Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days
by red-flower11
Summary: AU: In which we embark on a journey where thirty one 'million dollar' men suddenly realize they are bent on having this unknown Haruno Sakura all to themselves. MultiSaku
1. Kakashi Hatake

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

* * *

January 1st

* * *

Sakura never thought that this was going to be hard.

All she had to do was appear on time at the bar and get a list from her FORMER best friend Ino. Sakura shivered, and adjusted her thick coat, pulling it tighter to her body. She was heading to Tsunade's bar, just a few blocks from her apartment, there she would meet Ino. Ugh. She grimaced at the thought of Ino.

The Yamanaka just _had _to gamble with Tsunade, that night. The little brat _knew _there was no way Tsunade'd win—It's _Tsunade. _

So Ino—intent on getting Sakura a loving husband―made a bet. The bet went as follows: If Ino won, then Sakura would be given a list of thirty-one men that she would have to spend one day with from the beginning of January to the end. And if Tsunade won, Ino'd buy her Sake for the rest of the year. Which really adds up. Of course with such an outrageous bet, Tsunade couldn't refuse and that was when Sakura's life went spiraling downward—into the pits of men filled hell.

Sakura heaved a sigh, that could be clearly seen as she puffed out the hot breath into the freezing January first air—new years. Snow fell in minuscule flakes around her fur boots and she shivered again, lifting her hands to adjust the fur lined hood that covered her head.

"Oh, YEAH! This'll be my New year's resolution, baby! Drink 'till you drop!" A young man, looking barely old enough to even be _in_ a bar, came stumbling out holding a large bottle of Sake in his gloved hand. His cheeks were red, and his arm was wrung tightly around another man's neck as they promptly, albeit rather lopsidedly, made their way down the snow plowed side-walk. The other man, nearly hitting Sakura with his own nearly empty bottle as they staggered passed.

Sakura simply ignored them, too lost in her own depression to really notice her surroundings. She looked up at the huge neon letters that gleamed across the overhang, and confirmed it as Tsunade's bar. With another violent shiver, she pushed her way inside through a throng of women who seemed even more drunk than the men outside.

The warm air, was welcomed greatly by a freezing Sakura, as she pulled her hood off her head, her short pink hair spilling out over her shoulders. Immediately, the cold, brusque scent of the outdoors was replaced by a cozy, cigarette smoke smog that engulfed her. She inhaled the heavenly warmth, let it wash over her and score through her frozen veins, soon she felt warm and right at home.

She stepped over to the long bar, and pulled herself onto a stool, placing her small purse on the black marble counter. A white-haired man she'd never met before, stepped over to her from behind the bar. He wore a black mask, and he was cleaning one of the glasses with a white rag. He smiled at her, or at least she thought he did, and leaned his elbows on the marble in front of her.

"What can I do for you?" he asked pleasantly and Sakura frowned at him. _He must be new_, she assumed, unable to recognize the man for anyone she'd ever known to work at her adoptive mother's bar. She examined the rows upon rows of alcoholic beverages that lined the shelves while shrugging her jacket off and laying it―bundled—in her lap.

"Just a water thanks, I'm just waiting for someone," Sakura finally answered, after a few moments of contemplation. The man smiled again and leaned back, going off―she presumed—to acquire her water. She watched him, out of bored curiosity, leaning on her fist.

His hair was one of the most defining things about him. It stuck straight up, then abruptly jutted to the left, a section of that jut covered most of his left eye―he had black eyes. He looked about, twenty eight—twenty nine, somewhere in his late twenties, Sakura was sure.

"Here you go." He smiled again, setting the glass down in front of her. Sakura returned the gesture and, for good measure, took a long sip of her water―she felt a small quiver as the cold liquid slithered down her throat. "So, who're you waiting for? Boyfriend?" he asked, grabbing another wet glass to scrub it out with the same rag.

"No, a friend of mine." Sakura shrugged, lifting the glass to reflexively take another gulp, and again she shivered from the cold. The man was still smiling at her—she thought―and she began to think he was expecting something. To divert this awkward attention she asked, "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before."

He shrugged, amiably. "I supposed you could say that, I'm only standing in for a friend of mine. I guess you come here often then, to be familiar with the employees?" he questioned, conversationally. "Oh, I'm Kakashi by the way," he added as an afterthought.

_No last name?_ Sakura thought absently and then nodded. "I'm Haruno Sakura. And no, I don't really come often. I just know the owner of the place," she informed offhandedly. Quickly, she made a sweep of the small tavern, looking out for a blonde headed loudmouth. Her search came up with nothing, and she returned her attention to Kakashi.

"Ah, well I guess that makes sense. So, why meet a friend at a tavern of all places?" Kakashi asked, setting down the glass, and taking another into his hands. She watched him thoroughly dry the cup out, before answering.

"Oh, she wanted to come here. This is one of her favorite places to drink and she needed to give me something for a bet I—my _mom_ lost," Sakura corrected herself dejectedly, not at all happy with the situation that was soon to unfold. She grumbled to herself as she picked at the end of her gloved finger. Kakashi chuckled.

"By the way you sound, I take it this bet affects you as well as your mom?" Kakashi assumed, placing the dry glass upside down on the small wrack. Sakura sighed, her dark lashes fluttering, and leaned unceremoniously on the counter with a snort.

"_Definitely _more me than her," she muttered into her long-sleeved, gray winter dress, which she—of course—had a pair of skinny jeans underneath to keep her legs warm in the fleeting winter days.

"And why would that be?" Kakashi asked, prolonging the conversation. Sakura groaned quietly and lifted her head to look Kakashi in the eye.

"Let's just say, I'm gonna have a lot on my plate this month," she hissed. More angry with herself for letting Ino alone with Tsunade for a whole night, than her current listener.

"I suppose it'd be prying if I were to ask what the bet was," Kakashi replied with a curious look, or what Sakura had interpreted as such anyway, being unable to have a full view of his face. Reluctantly, Sakura pulled herself up with a yawn and glanced at her watch. It was a quarter to eight and Ino still hadn't shown up.

"Mostly," was all Sakura murmured when she remembered Kakashi's implied question. She had no intentions whatsoever of telling this stranger that she had to date thirty-one men in a month. It'd probably make her sound like some cheap hussy. Which she most definitely wasn't.

She heard Kakashi sigh. "I see. But if you ever do feel like telling me, I'm all ears," Kakashi offered, his silver eyebrows raised. Sakura nodded politely and let another glance around the bar for her female companion. But her search was in vain, once again, there was no Ino in sight.

She rolled her eyes in irritation and turned back to Kakashi who was still standing in front of her, cleaning out glasses. Sakura gave the rest of the long counter a once-over and dubbed Kakashi very lucky that Tsunade had four other bartenders working the bar. Or he surely would have been reprimanded for his lack of labor.

"So, Miss Sakura, what do you do for a living?" Kakashi inquired out of the blue, setting a clear glass down. Sakura decided on another gulp of fresh cold water and shrugged.

"I'm still finishing college on a scholarship for creative and editorial writing. Right now, I'm jobless. I live off of my mom like a leech," Sakura stated matter-o-factly, both her hands encircling the glass of water. She felt no shame in admitting that Tsunade paid for all her expenses, thus was the reason why Sakura had agreed to such an ordeal as the bet. If she hadn't, Tsunade would have revoked her living privileges. Without which Sakura would surely die.

"Wow, that's quite a lot to admit on a first encounter." Kakashi grinned this time and set another of the glasses down with a _thunk_. "I, for one, own my own business." Sakura hooked on to that little tidbit of information with curiosity.

"Really? Then why're you _here_?" She asked, gesturing around at the rapidly increasing occupants of the tavern. Kakashi merely shrugged.

"Like I said, I'm just helping out a friend. Besides, I have a certain interview to conduct here," Kakashi said amicably with a lethargic shrug. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"What did you say the name of your business was again?"

Kakashi grinned again, though this one was different, this one gave off a kind of mysterious air about it. And Sakura could have sworn that she saw a twinkle in his visible eye.

"I never said, but I'd be glad to tell you. I'm the proud owner of the Hatake Corporation," he said with a flourish.

Sakura's jaw dropped to the floor, or so it felt, and she gaped openly at the man in front of her.

"Your _th-that _Kakashi? But, Hatake Corps. is a multi-million dollar company… Th-there's no way—wait. Am I being punk'd?" Sakura incredulously accused, looking from side to side for hidden cameras. She growled when the search was fruitless. "Ha Ha, very funny. You got me! Now c'mon, where's Ino I know it was her!"

A few guys talking at a table stopped a moment to stare at her. And then Kakashi Hatake burst into a huge fit of laughter. It was such a raucous that the women from five booths away were glaring at her and him. Sakura with a frustrated pout, stood up on the edge of her stool, and leaned forward to angrily smack Kakashi upside the head.

"Stop it! Your disturbing the customers!" she hissed in his ear, before ungraciously plopping back down in her seat. Slowly, Kakashi's laughter quieted to chuckles and soon that died down to an occasional humorous grunt.

"No Miss Sakura, you're not being punk'd. I'm the real deal," he smirked, wiping the tears from his eyes. Sakura glared at him, her arms crossed tersely over her chest.

"Then where's the paparazzi? If you are who you say you are, then why aren't there hoards of camera crews and reporters stalking your every move?" she inquired, her voice tight, refusing to meet his eye. Kakashi found himself regretting having told the woman his true identity.

"For the paparazzi's benefit they don't actually do that and if you haven't noticed, I'm in _disguise_," Kakashi emphasized, lifting his hand to tug at the black polyester mask.

Sakura heaved a huge breath, but still shot him a disbelieving look. Though, Kakashi couldn't blame the young vixen, he was, after all, extremely well-known around the world. What were the odds of him showing up at her local tavern acting as a bartender to avoid the press, awaiting an interview?

"_Okay_, let's say by some miracle you actually _are _Hatake Kakashi, what in the hell are you doing in a public bar?" Sakura questioned, sending him a warning glance, just begging him to laugh at her, just see what would happen. He smiled again, another glass in hand.

"I already told you, I'm here to interview a young lady." Sakura gave him a dry look.

"Uh-huh, and why would you be doing that?" She inquired suspiciously, taking a particularly large gulp of the rest of her water and slamming the glass back down on the counter. "Get me a shot of vodka… with Coke."

"Well, if you were paying attention to the magazines and/or television, then you'd know about the untimely death of Jiraiya. Do you?" Kakashi asked, taking the glass from her hands delicately and turning around to get a fresh bottle of vodka and a can of Coke. Sakura shrugged, carelessly.

"I knew he died, he owned this huge company, covered practically half of Japan. He had a whole bunch of stocks built up too, but that's pretty much it as far as I know," Sakura explained, stretching comfortably. Kakashi returned to his previous position in front of her and pulled the tab up on the can.

"Yes, yes, old news. But did you hear what they're going to do with the company and stocks?" Sakura shook her head, no, and Kakashi continued. "They legally have to go by what his will reads and do you know what his will reads?" Another shake, no. "He wrote, to every Japanese multi-million dollar company owner, that his stock shares and his _entire _company go to—and this is the fun part—the first to get married."

Sakura gave him a skeptical look as he poured in a shot of vodka, "So the guy's insane. You don't really think they're going to abide by the will, after all that, do you?" she said obviously, running her fingers through her short bubblegum hair. Kakashi smirked.

"I don't have to _think_ they will, they already _have_." Sakura's jaw dropped again at this and she almost slid off her stool. Luckily, she caught herself in time. Kakashi happily continued. "But, they decided, for better clarifications and no confusion, to make rules and regulations for this… 'Contest' of sorts. First, only big name corporations may participate. Leading companies, in other words." Kakashi paused, noticing the questioning look she was giving him.

"But what's to stop the company owners from just marrying some random woman? I'm sure they'd be knocking down their doors for a chance into that much money," Sakura said, her head tilted to the side in confusion.

Kakashi's right eye crinkled in another one of his smiles as he slid the glass of vodka-coke into Sakura's hands. Talking with this pink haired delight was becoming quite entertaining in Kakashi's eyes. An even bigger smile spread over his masked face.

"Well, the whole thing is adapting it's rules from that popular television broadcast… er, _The Bachelor_ I think it was called, anyway, the staff picks fourteen girls they think would be a perfect match for the owner in question. Then they're shipped off to our estate—"

"Why fourteen?" Sakura interrupted, finding herself unwillingly enraptured in the conversation.

"Because, we, the company owners, get to choose one by ourselves. But don't worry, we're not allowed to know them personally. We have to hold interviews on our own time and go off from there," Kakashi explained when Sakura opened her mouth to cut in again. She nodded in understanding.

"So then what? Do they _film _it like they do on _The Bachelor_? Like, go to your house and make a reality show?" Sakura was bustling with questions, she could hardly contain herself as she unconsciously leaned forward, as if getting closer to Kakashi, would give her better information.

"Yes, they bring in the camera crew and BAM! They just managed to twist a legal company dispute into a brand new live TV and thirty-one channels _booked_, commercial free, for a month!" Kakashi exclaimed, slamming his fists onto the marble bar enthusiastically. Sakura blanched, recognizing that dreadful number thirty-one, coughing and hacking on the sip of her drink she'd taken. Kakashi, concerned, leaned forward to pat her back gently.

"Ow…" Sakura rubbed her sore throat and took a few well deserved gulps of air, before actually attempting to talk. "Um, did—did you say thirty-one channels?" Sakura gasped, still partly choking. She hurriedly took a swig of her coke and sent Kakashi a demanding glance.

"Yes, why?" He asked, tilting his head to the side, much like Sakura had done just minutes prior.

"Er, well, why thirty-one?" Sakura answered his question with another question and he went back to finishing up the glasses.

"Because there's thirty-one leading companies in Japan eligible for the Contest. Every participant has to be under the age of thirty," Kakashi explained, cheerily. Sakura guessed he was happy he was allowed to take part in this strange but entertaining event. "Oh! Miss Sakura—"

"Do you _always _call girls you first meet, 'Miss'?" Sakura cut in, looking disgruntled. She hated being spoke to with such formalities. She wasn't _that _important. Kakashi smiled again.

"Not really, it just depends on how I'm feeling. Anyway, when did you say your friend was showing up? It's nearly been forty minutes," he said. Sakura gasped, she had totally forgotten Ino. She glanced at her watch, and, sure enough, it was already past eight.

"I didn't say when she was coming, but she told me to be here at seven thirty, so…"Sakura trailed off, turning around again to skim over the bobbing heads of the many people that filled the room. "I don't see her, maybe I should call—"

"Sakura!"

And suddenly Sakura was bombarded with an arsenal of apologies and excuses, a pair of arms winding tightly around her.

"I-Ino?" Sakura mumbled in question, when the person pulled away Sakura saw her blonde friend, smiling happily at her.

"The one and only! And I have your list for the bet!" Ino squealed, with a little _too_ much excitement. Sakura was suspicious. The blonde plopped down on the stool next to Sakura, and lifted her tote bag onto the counter.

"Excuse me, Miss? What may I do for you?" Kakashi asked, just as pleasantly as he had asked Sakura what seemed like forever ago. Ino looked up from her scrummaging around in her bag.

"Um, can you get me a Flaming Dr. Pepper?" Ino ordered off the top of her head and Kakashi complied, standing up to retrieve the drink, he winked at Sakura as he walked away. Sakura rolled her eyes. "AHA!" Ino suddenly exclaimed, scaring Sakura half-to-death, as the pinkette gripped the bar so hard, she could swear she saw gauges in the marble.

"Here's your list! Careful, it's long," Ino said, pulling out a paper that looked like a giant receipt. It had to be about a foot in length, Sakura estimated. Taking it delicately in her hands, she took a deep breath, and read.

"That's everybody!" Ino grinned from ear to ear, obviously proud of herself. For what reason Sakura couldn't fathom, because _Sakura _was about to kill herself.

"Ino…?" She murmured quietly, almost a whisper. Ino's smile grew and she leaned closer to Sakura.

"Yeah?"

"EVERYONE ON HERE IS A MILLIONAIRE!" Sakura screeched, waving the list in the blonde's face. "ARE YOU _CRAZY_?"

By then, everyone in the pub was staring at Sakura, even the completely wasted ones were sending Sakura curious glances. But Sakura was in enough of a stupor, she didn't have time to deal with minor details.

She froze in her crazed rant, then let her arms fall to her side, slowly and turned back in her chair, strangers' faces watching her wonderingly. "AGH!" And with that strained yell, she let her head fall to the marble, the list lying forgotten on the counter.

It was quiet for only a moment, as everyone stared, disturbed, before returning to their earlier ministrations. Ino poked Sakura, until Kakashi appeared with a glass in hand, a shot glass in the other. He set them down in front of Ino, with a charming smile. Ino blushed, a little, and muttered a thank you.

"Um, what happened to Sakura?" Kakashi questioned, giving Sakura a confused glance. Ino quirked an eyebrow.

"You know her?"

"Of course, we've had plenty time to talk, we're the best of friends now!" Kakashi exclaimed cheerily. "So what happened?" he added, more seriously, prodding Sakura with a half fingered, gloved hand. Ino sighed, plopping her shot glass of Amaretto, glazed with 151 proof rum into the glass of beer.

"Well, you see her mom lost a bet with me. The deal was: if _I_ won Sakura had to see thirty-one guys, one for each day of January. And I won, obviously. I showed her the list, but before I could explain, she just went ballistic in my face and passed out," Ino recalled the chaotic events from only seconds ago. With her sky blue eyes she saw Kakashi reach forward to grab the list.

"May I?" he asked, already holding the list at eye level.

"Go right ahead," Ino shrugged, taking out a lighter and lighting the alcohol in the shot glass on fire. As Kakashi scanned the list, he suddenly realized something. Everyone, every _single_ man listed there was a participant for the Contest! His eyes widened, as he read the last of the names. "Actually, we were supposed to be meeting a real important guy tonight too," Ino rambled to herself, blowing out the flames in a crisp breath.

Kakashi's eyes widened even wider—if that were even possible—and then as the realization set in, he felt an unfamiliar flop in his stomach. His heart was already warming to the prospect. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Ino asked, subtly inching away.

"Were you going to have an interview with Kakashi Hatake?" Kakashi asked, slowly and steadily, but he already felt mushy inside. Ino gave him an incredulous look, before nodding her head vigorously, thinking maybe the bartender had a message for her from the famous millionaire.

"Well, I must say, you're a bit late!" he smiled, pulling the tip of his mask down, revealing the face of Kakashi Hatake. Ino almost died right on the spot, her face as red as a tomato.

"Oh my God! _You're _Kakashi Hatake!" she exclaimed her hands waving in the air like a madwoman. Quickly he released his mask, and it immediately snapped back into place. His hand shot forward to cover her mouth, and he lifted his finger to his lips.

"Shh. I'm in _disguise_," he whispered, and Ino melted into putty. Kakashi smiled to himself as he retracted his hand. He still had it. He was _smooth_. Kakashi then reached over to Sakura and shook her awake.

"Huh? Wha—Uhn, Kakashi?" Sakura mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her bruised forehead, painfully. When she shifted her gaze to Kakashi's face, he was smiling broadly and it kind of scared her.

"You know how I told you about that interview I had?" Kakashi asked, giddily. Sakura let her hand fall from her bruise, and she gave him a confused look.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, looks like your friend planned for you to be one of the interviewees for _every single _contestant in the Contest! Which means, you're my interviewee too! You get it, Sakura! I could invite you over to my house!" Kakashi was jumping like a child and Sakura had a massive headache.

"Um, okay. So, does that mean that you're not gonna interview me?" Sakura muttered, and Kakashi grinned again.

"No, no need. I already know you well enough—" At that moment Ino decided to come back to life.

"No! You can't just automatically call dibs on her! She has to meet every single participant first!" she yelled indignantly, her fists to her hips. Kakashi scowled at her.

"Why? I already said I'd take her, why aren't you satisfied? Isn't that what you wanted?" he growled. Ino narrowed her sky blue eyes dangerously.

"The bet was _thirty-one _guys. And there will be _thirty-one _guys."

And with that Ino folded up the list, thrust it into her coat pocket, grabbed her bag and strode out of the bar. Sakura smiled, despite her bruised forehead, and waved a good bye to him before rushing after her furious friend.

Kakashi growled lowly to himself, "Not if I can help it."

* * *

Oh Yeah.

This is gonna be SO fun to write!

But, yeah. One guy per chapter. That equals 31 chapters right off the bat.

Review please!

Much obliged,

Red


	2. Naruto Uzumaki

So.

Thank you for your awesome reviews!

I also might maybe eventually post a list of every Naruto guy I have in mind for this. So just regularly check my profile and it might be there. MIGHT.

I don't know.

**Disclaimer:** Naw, I don't own nothing.

I apologize for any/all mistakes. Also, for anything that seems remotely British sounding. I've been reading Harry Potter.

**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

* * *

January 2nd

* * *

Sakura had no idea what in the hell she was doing here.

When she thought about it, it all seemed kind of superficial. She let a very long, exasperated sigh slip from her lipstick covered lips. The lipstick—of course―to cover her bluing lips. She shuttered as a particularly harsh gust of cold wind blew by. Clutching her thin sweater tight to her freezing form, Sakura cursed Ino one thousand times over.

She was currently standing in front of the Uzumaki Corps. main establishment, with over a hundred other women. They were all waiting in a ridiculously long line in order to achieve an interview with one Mr. Naruto Uzumaki. The well-known, twenty-three year old man who created a long line of Ichiraku ramen restaurants after working in a small stand with the same name, for almost half his life.

"Oh my God! We're going to get to see the Naruto Uzumaki!"

Sakura sighed in irate agitation, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her blue jeans. She had forgotten her coat in the rush earlier that morning, she grated her teeth remembering how Ino had shoved her out the door and chucked her pair of black fur boots in her face, before throwing her into the passenger seat of her brand new blue Porsche. Sakura glowered, when she saw tiny white flakes begin to cascade from the graying clouds in the formerly beautiful sky.

Stupid Ino. Sakura sighed again—she'd been sighing a lot lately―and cursed herself this time for having the misfortune of being friends since childhood with a model. She rolled her eyes, Ino had grown up, became beautiful and was off to fame. Sakura grew up, became average and was off on a scholarship to a life of literature. The gap was inevitable.

How was Sakura to know that Ino would eventually plot to get her with some rich man and use her connections—that all rich people seem to have―to get her an appointment with every big company owner in the vicinity? Sakura was tempted to crack her head against the telephone pole, a mere few feet away from her shivering form.

"ATTENTION! …WOMEN!"

Sakura jerked her head up, along with all the other women in the never ending line that must have stretched miles. All of the recent squeals and chatter of before immediately ceased at the appearance of a man, he looked rather intimidating, but as far as Sakura was concerned, he wasn't anybody of big name in the economic world—a nobody, in other words.

"Uzumaki-san is now allowing women inside to speak with the receptionists! You will state your name, your age and your current job. They will determine then, if you are qualified for an interview with Uzumaki-san."

With that being announced, the man disappeared back inside the building to be replaced by a score of policemen. Sakura removed her hands from her pockets to wrap her arms around herself, with another shiver. She watched with clear, tortured, boredom, as the stout policemen stepped over to pull the ample number of clear glass doors, previously locked, open simultaneously. Apparently, as far as Sakura could tell, there were eight doors and from the looks of it, each door led to a receptionists' desk.

The policemen fanned out to different parts of the extending line of women, one man stopped a few feet away from Sakura and she watched him curiously. Addressing the women in front of him, including Sakura, he said, "Please move to the third door."

After that he carefully led a tall red haired lady to said door, the women behind her followed obediently, Sakura, three women down from the red-head, reluctantly went. As Sakura walked, she couldn't help but appreciate the control and intelligence Naruto Uzumaki must have for having thought up this efficient way of interviewing his woman to choose for the Contest. At least, it was better than the way Kakashi had approached it. What with the lying and the deceiving and sorts.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! What if I'm chosen, Koyoko? What if… Oh! I'm so excited!" The woman in front of Sakura screeched at the top of her lungs, her hands to her face as she blushed. Sakura stared behind her, that telephone pole was looking very inviting.

Sakura was cold. She felt the wet, icy air seep into her red Cashmere sweater and deeply regretted wearing it. The thing was dry clean only, and the snow was getting heavier. Sakura really hated Ino.

As she shuttered like a dying tree in the freezing weather, she idly pondered what Kakashi was doing. She hadn't seen him since last night at Tsunade's bar. Though, Sakura had to admit, she shouldn't really be concerned about him anyway, seeing as how he was a millionaire and she was… well not. So he was none of her concern. Sakura pouted to herself, she really needed to get out more—acquire more friends than just rich, famous people, heck even Tsunade was known.

"EEYAH! NARUTO-KUN! IT'S HIM! LOOK! LOOK! THERE HE IS!"

At the sudden exclamation Sakura jerked her head up to see a young blonde haired man standing seven or eight feet away from where the pinkette was shivering. He had three whiskers on either side of his cheeks, but instead of appearing immature and childish, it gave him a sort of rugged look and—Sakura had to admit―he pulled it off well, he actually managed to look sexy with those things.

Sakura felt her face warm, but she immediately suppressed it. No. Sakura refused to like anybody Ino paired her up with. No matter how hot he looked. He was wearing a large amount of orange and Sakura almost cringed from the sheen. He had orange pants that bunched up at the ankles, an orange and black, thick jacket was wrapped around his torso with a black shirt underneath. He looked completely unprofessional in Sakura's eyes.

He cracked a grin, that crinkled his eyes and showed his white teeth. Obviously he was satisfied with the cat calls and declarations of love being shouted at him by the vast amounts of women. Hot, rich men could reduce the best of women into play putty on the ground, Sakura mused with dismay as the women practically threw themselves at the spiky blonde's feet.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, but you all probably know that! I'm gonna interview a selected few of you, and choose who I want to come live with me at my estate!" he announced the clearly evident. Everybody already knew that. Then—quite suddenly―Sakura noticed nine different news crews, all standing stiff with excitement, awaiting the chance to inquire Naruto-the-great. Sakura snorted.

"Ma'am?" It took Sakura a moment to realize the police officer was referring to herself, as he ushered her in. Sakura stepped forward, through the doors, expecting to be greeted by the comforting warmth that was natural in buildings during the cold season of winter. Instead she was nearly knocked off her feet when she was pelted with even colder air, shooting out of the air vents with vice-like ferocity.

"Oh my G-God!" she gurgled, her hands shaking uncontrollably now. Her teeth were clanking together and creating the most annoying chatter. They were cracking against each other so hard she thought her teeth might fall out of her gums. She convulsed her way to one of the front desks, appropriately stationed for everyone's convenience.

"S-Sakura Har-Haruno. Age t-twenty-three. I d-don't have a job right no-now," Sakura barely managed to stutter out, clinging to herself to conserve what little body heat she had. The woman gave her a sympathetic look and Sakura stared enviously at her big black coat.

"Ah! You're the girl Yamanaka Ino recommended personally to Uzumaki-san, yes?" the woman asked, with wide brown eyes. Sakura shuddered, her face red.

"Y-yeah. I-Ino sent me," she mumbled, her hands were beginning to go numb and she quickly tried to rub them together for friction, but immediately after she released her body a fresh wave of icy air blasted over her mid-section, chilling her to the bone. Her hands flung automatically back to her stomach.

"No jacket?" the woman sighed, after tapping something on the touch-screen monitor. Sakura nodded her head vigorously. The woman smiled apologetically. "Just wait outside, you'll be getting an interview with Uzumaki-san soon," the receptionist finished, waiting for Sakura to forget her freezing, and jump for joy into the air, but was thoroughly surprised when all the girl did was nod, shivering in between bobs of her head, her short pink hair flailing.

She hurriedly spun around, wishing nothing more to leave the company that was colder than snow itself on its coldest day. As she headed back for the doors, she slowly inched her hands up her neck and rubbed her prickling face violently to recapture the fleeting warmth. Suddenly, unexpectedly Sakura rammed into somebody, unable to see where she was going. She stumbled back, and opened her mouth to utter a long stream of apologies.

"I-I'm s-sorry—"

"No, it's fine." At the deep masculine voice Sakura inclined her face to stare up into cerulean blue eyes. She jumped back a foot—a knee-jerk reaction. She tried to look apologetic but she couldn't exactly pull it off, what with the freezing cold and all. She looked more like a kicked puppy.

Sakura watched as Naruto examined her up and down before asking, "don't you have a jacket?" Sakura almost rolled her eyes. She was tempted to ask if he was hard of seeing, because obviously she wasn't carrying a jacket in her jeans pocket.

"N-no, my friend didn't g-give me a ch-chance to g-grab one," she stuttered, and her blue lips shone like a light underneath her cover of lipstick. Naruto gave her a skeptical-sympathetic look as he tilted his head to the side, blonde spikes titling as well.

"Where's your friend?" he inquired, and Sakura noticed over his shoulder, all the steaming and envious looks of pure rage and jealousy she was receiving. She shivered violently, and not just because of the cold this time.

"I-Ino's not here..." she muttered, her eyes never leaving the large amount of women and news cameras that were pressing up against the glass doors, gloved hands constantly rubbing circles in the foggy condensation that covered the glass for a better view. Suddenly, she felt something exceedingly warm placed atop her shoulders and she automatically gripped the edges of the unknown object tightly to her freezing form.

"Oh! So, you're the Haruno Sakura that little rat told me she was sending over? Aw, you're so cute," Naruto cooed, grinning happily; clad in his black t-shirt. And Sakura realized what that implied, she jerked her head to see the black and vibrant orange of Naruto Uzumaki's jacket. With a more than grateful glance sent in Naruto's direction she quickly pulled her arms through the sleeves, relishing in the great warmth that radiated of the jacket itself and thanking God for giving Naruto so much body heat. The sleeves hung off her fingertips and the ends of the coat reached the middle of her thighs―it was too large, but that made it all the more comfortable.

"Er, y-yeah, that's me," Sakura said, nibbling on her bottom lip in nervous embarrassment. She pulled the jacket tighter as Naruto stepped closer to her, that obnoxious grin still splayed across his face. Then suddenly his arm was around her shoulders and he signaled for the man who had done the announcements earlier to come over.

"Y-yes sir?" the man yelped, holding a clipboard tight to his chest as the light reflected off his glasses. Sakura—albeit unwillingly―silently welcomed the massive amount of heat that emanated from Naruto as he held her tight to his side.

"I'm gonna go ahead and have myself an interview with this Sakura Haruno, she was personally recommended by Ino Yamanaka," Naruto explained with another grin, the man nodded and peered down at his clipboard, shuffling through pages.

He finally stopped and ripped the page out of the clip, to hand to Naruto. "Thanks, now can you go and tell the police to get those women off my doors?" the blonde called amiably over his shoulder as he navigated Sakura towards the elevator.

After pressing the up button, it glowed a light orange until the elevator stopped on the bottom floor and the silver doors slid open. Sakura was ushered into the small room-like compartment, alongside Naruto and she felt odd being alone in an elevator with someone as important as he was.

"So, why's Ino putting you in for an interview anyway? You don't have a fancy for me do you?" Naruto goaded teasingly, with a stupidly annoying smile as he languidly rubbed his cheek against hers, much like a cat—Sakura thought, idly wondering if Naruto had been called a womanizer at any moment in time.

"Um, I lost a bet," she muttered, veering away from his snuggles despite the comforting warmth. He pouted at her most cutely, and Sakura had to turn away.

Naruto hastily pressed a button on the large panel of numbered buttons on the side of the elevator and Sakura felt the elevator jostle back to life with a 'whir'. "Aw, so there's no attraction at all?" Naruto whimpered, his arm tightening around her. Sakura took a slow, deliberate breath and nervously pulled at the end of Naruto's jacket's sleeve.

"Um…" She couldn't force herself to answer, and she merely stared at her boots. His blonde hair tickled her cheek, and she instinctively lifted her hand to brush it away, only too late realizing that it was Naruto's hair. Unintentionally, she ran her hand along Naruto's head, as if petting him, and he grinned a teeth showing grin.

"I like you," was all he said, as the elevator reached whatever floor―Sakura wasn't paying attention—and he pulled her out of the elevator with him. He lead her to an empty office, with a small brown table and two chairs. Sakura also noticed in the corner a table with coffee and tea sitting, steam puffing from their lids―freshly made. The office had the whole opposite wall covered in glass instead of plaster and Sakura could faintly see the fringe of the crowd of furious women standing outside the Uzumaki Corps. building. Sakura gulped.

"Go ahead and take a seat," Naruto offered, holding out a chair for her. Politely, she placed herself down into the brown wooden chair and let Naruto scoot her in. He trotted over and plopped himself down in the chair opposite her. "Alright, so… I'm gonna ask you personal questions, okay Sakura? And then you're going to answer them best you can." Sakura merely nodded in understanding.

"Okay, first and foremost, do you like ramen?" Naruto asked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and looking most intense. Sakura mulled the question over in her head. She knew Naruto was infamous for being a huge ramen lover, so if she felt so inclined she could say yes to get on his good side—if she felt so inclined.

"Not particularly. At least—I don't gorge myself on it like you do. I'll eat it every once in a while and I like it, I guess. But it's not my favorite," Sakura said, glancing out the window again and admiring the beautiful sight of the snow-capped skyscrapers that littered the city.

"Aw, Sakura-chan your honest!" Naruto spouted, an approving smile on his face. "Now, how's your life been up until now?" he continued, watching the pinkette closely. Sakura fingered a strand of her bangs.

"Well, I was born on March twenty-eighth and when I was fourteen my parents passed away. Then I was taken in by a good friend of my mother and after that I was offered a scholarship for creative and editorial writing at a university in Tokyo. So, me and my mom packed up and moved here. Later, I ran into Ino again who had been my friend until I graduated early from high school. She had told me she was a top-notch model and minor actress now. I rented my own apartment using my mom's money, and I don't need a job right now because my mom pays for me," Sakura explained, half-heartedly. She twirled the bit of pink hair around her index finger and stared at the table.

"Wow," Naruto muttered, but his impressed face immediately reverted back to its excited expression. "Do you know anything about the way Corporations or my business in specific work?" Naruto asked, admiring the way the winter sun illuminated her bubblegum hair. Sakura glanced in his direction, just a fleck, a peripheral check.

"Nope, I never really was very interested in business and finance at school," Sakura stated plaintively, resting her chin on her clenched fist―her cheek pressing against the end of Naruto's sleeve. As she inhaled; she inhaled the scent of ramen and… man. The vague way that every guy just kind of smelled like, without the help of cologne or anything.

"Splendid," Naruto mumbled gingerly, and he felt his heart swell for reasons he was blind to. "Do you ever plan on having kids?" he asked amicably, his face in his hands as he watched Sakura's smallest movements, the most minuscule thing was vitally important when it came to these kind of interviews.

Sakura paused. She'd never really considered it before, it had never occurred to her—anything involving marriage or babies just sort of went in one ear and out the other. When she thought of a little girl with pink hair like her own, and the man she loves' eyes, smiling up at her and exclaiming―rather extravagantly—"Mommy!" Sakura felt herself warm to the idea and she almost giggled.

"Yes," was the short answer she replied, with a smile gracing her lips―returned to their usual hue of pink, instead of the ghastly blue. Naruto's grin grew even wider—if that was even possible―and he prepared himself for the last and most personal question he'd have to ask in this interview.

"And lastly, are you a virgin?"

Of course, Naruto already knew the answer to almost all of the questions he asked, so that he could tell if they were lying or not. So yes, Naruto had already known to the answer to that last question he asked Sakura, due to the compiled paper that they printed of every woman who had arrived that frosty morning. One would be surprised at how much a millionaire could find out, if he so wished.

"Um… y-yeah," Sakura muttered it almost like a question, a big red blush covered her cheeks and it was then that Naruto couldn't—didn't want to―control himself and he knocked the table aside, wrapping his arms tightly around Sakura's form. He nuzzled her, much like a fox, and smelled the sweet strawberry scent of her short pink locks.

"I choose you, Sakura-chan! Aw, your just the cutest girl I've ever seen! I want you to be my girl for the contest!" he announced, unintentionally—or maybe intentionally―adding emphasis on the 'my'. Sakura's eyes grew wide, looking like jade dinner plates.

"B-but—!"

"But what, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, pulling away from her slightly, to see her more clearly.

"W-well, Ino—she signed me up with thirty other interviews and, well, another guy already said he'd take me!" Sakura exclaimed, looking and feeling rather guilty, for what reason she couldn't fathom. If anyone should be feeling guilty at the moment it should be Ino for not predicting this! Naruto felt his heart clench, and his stomach twist into knots, he let a low growl ripple the muscles in his neck.

"Who?" he said, in an oddly possessive voice. His blue eyes staring intently into her green ones.

"U-um, Hatake… Kakashi," she said meekly, in fear of what Naruto might do. But before Naruto could open his mouth or even utter a sound of his apparent anger, there was a rap on the door.

"Come in!" Naruto barked, and then at once tried to calm himself, but he still held Sakura tight in his arms. A woman poked her head in, she didn't seem surprised at Sakura and Naruto's position in the slightest. And that made Sakura a little suspicious.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt but he said this was urgent, you have a visitor." After that was said, she pulled back and let whoever was on the other side of the door open it for himself as she disappeared down the hall.

As soon as it was evident who had arrived, Naruto felt the possessive jealousy bubble in the pit of his stomach. He instinctively held Sakura tighter to his chest. "Kakashi."

"Naruto—Oh my God. You didn't! I knew it! I just freaking knew it! Sakura's too lovable for her own good! Dammit!" the silver haired man cursed, ripping at his hair in agitation.

In embarrassment, Sakura wormed her way out of Naruto's constricting grasp, however, she was most definitely not going to remove the jacket―the only thing keeping her from turning into a Sakurasicle. For a moment Kakashi stared at Sakura expectantly and she inched away from his penetrating stare. His eyes glued to the Halloween colored jacket wrapped around her shoulders.

" I, uh, f-forgot my coat at home," she muttered, refusing to look Kakashi in the eye. "If you haven't notice it feels like Antarctica in here." As she said this she cast an accusing glance in Naruto's direction. He shrugged with a small grin.

"Why are you here, Kakashi?" Naruto asked, stepping closer to Sakura and sending Kakashi a rather reproachful look.

"I came to make sure you didn't have the interview with Sakura, but ironically—as fate would have it―she happened to be your first choice," Kakashi sighed, stepping over so that he was standing in front of Sakura, who—despite Kakashi's amiable tone―could sense the tension rising between the males. Again, she damned Ino to lowest, fieriest pits of hell.

"Er, so, Kakashi…What are you doing here now? I mean, if Naruto already interviewed me," Sakura hastily added, when Kakashi raised his eyebrow at her. She chuckled nervously, and distractedly pulled the silver zipper up and down on Naruto's jacket.

"Well, I was just coming to… talk to Naruto, about you!" Kakashi exclaimed, with a cheery grin, despite the dark tone of his voice. He lifted his arm to ruffle Sakura's pink hair with his gloved hand. Naruto watched the hand warily, as he suppressed the urge to rip it off and pull Sakura to him.

"What about me?" Sakura inquired suspiciously, ignoring the affectionate way he was patting her head. Mentally brushing it off as a I-chose-you-to-be-my-potential-wife-because-I wanted-you-to-see-my-house-not-because-I-thought-you'd-make-it!-If-I-wanted-a-hot-wife-I'd-choose-Ino. Yes, Sakura had a sort of an inferiority complex when it came to her looks. She wasn't the shiniest tool in the box, maybe the sharpest, but definitely not the shiniest.

"Hm? Well, I did say I already claimed you as my choice of bride-elect, didn't I? Naruto can't just suddenly burst onto the scene and claim you when I already have." In the midst of this explanation, he had slowly turned to direct the conversation towards Naruto. Who unconsciously bared his white teeth at Kakashi, accompanied with an unloving snarl.

"What? I chose Sakura, she's mine!" the eccentric blonde yelled, quite childishly, Sakura thought, watching the two millionaires glare with a large amount of hostility edging between them. Kakashi inclined his head, his silver hair falling back slightly.

"Oh really? And what the hell did you think I was doing yesterday?" he drawled icily, crossing his arms with a grunt of irritation. Sakura stood idly by, trying her hardest not to draw attention to herself. This was one disagreement, she really didn't want to take part in.

"Sakura's mine!" Naruto growled, lashing his hands out in his possessive anger. Sakura instinctively flinched in Kakashi's general direction. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so immature, Naruto. And keep it down, there's people out there," he indicated with his thumb to the door, "If they hear us fighting over our chosen girl, then we'll be up to our necks with the press!"

"What if I want the other company owners to know that Sakura's mine? Huh?" Naruto sneered, his blonde eyebrows rising in suggestion of the prospect. Kakashi sighed.

"Don't you remember the rules, you dunce. You're not allowed to make your decision until after you've interviewed every single woman," Kakashi hissed, with a delightfully spiteful smirk. "Do you think I'd seriously just allow Sakura to waltz around other men, if I could help it?" Naruto's enthusiasm deflated and his shoulders sunk in realization.

"Oh," was all he mumbled, staring dejectedly at the carpeted floor. Sakura gave Naruto a sympathetic look, even though he was just depressed because he couldn't keep Sakura to himself. She tilted her head down to get a better look at Naruto, his bangs in his eyes.

"It's okay, Naruto…" Sakura trailed off, holding herself to keep her warmth in Naruto's jacket. And suddenly Sakura felt the last bit of fleeting air leave her lungs, felt arms wrap around her to pull her into a suffocating hug.

"Thank you Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed rubbing his cheek against hers again as Sakura began seriously questioning his age. Was he twenty-three? Or was it five? It was kind of hard to tell.

"Naruto…." Kakashi growled, and Naruto felt a fist collide with his cheek. "Let her go, now." Naruto whimpered, and inched away from the psycho older man, taking Sakura with him.

"Did ya have to hit me?" he exclaimed, holding Sakura with one arm as he used his other hand to rub the red smear formed from the assault on his face. "Ow… Sakura! Did you see that? Kakashi punched me!" Naruto shouted, looking hurt as he pulled Sakura closer to himself.

"Uh...?" Sakura trailed off, her eyebrows knitted together, confusion evident on her face. "Okay..." Naruto pouted, his face mere centimeters from hers.

"Can you kiss it better?"

And with that Kakashi lunged forward. "You little bastard!" He yelled, strangling Naruto. Naruto grinned, as he subtly attempted to remove Kakashi's hands.

"I was kidding!"

"Er, guy…?" Sakura's quiet plea, went unnoticed as the men rolled around the floor throwing punches and kicks in every direction. The pinkette sighed, and wrapped her arms around herself, burying the lower part of her face into the black, raised collar of Naruto's jacket. "Men are really aggravating," she mumbled.

Then, rather abruptly, the door was pushed open and a blonde haired woman appeared there gaping at Kakashi and Naruto's little brawl. Sakura jumped in surprise, then silently cursed the two men. They were going to seriously ruin their image if word gets out they were killing each other over a girl.

"GUYS!" Sakura shouted, pointing to the frozen stiff woman. Kakashi and Naruto stopped immediately when they saw her. They rushed to their feet and nervously stepped over to her.

"W-what were you and U-uzumaki-san fighting about…?" The woman asked, backing up slightly. Sakura watched the exchange from behind Kakashi, him being taller than Naruto, therefore easier to cower behind. Sakura really disliked publicity. She didn't see how Ino could bear it.

"Well… You see, Naruto—He insulted my, um, my dad. So we got into a kind of a scuffle, but its good now," Kakashi smirked, leaning towards the girl and looking deeply into her eyes. Sakura was sure he was trying to seduce her into forgetting what she saw. If that was possible.

"O-oh. Right… um, er… bye." Then the woman slammed the door shut, Sakura could faintly hear her gasping breaths as she hurried away. She could practically imagine the woman's cherry colored face, as she animatedly retold the scene to her co-workers... and maybe some camera men. Naruto scratched his head, inquisitively.

"She didn't even say why she was here," he grumbled, with a careless shrug. Sakura sweat dropped and glanced at the clock that hung on the wall above the door. She gaped.

"Ah! I have to meet Ino at the bar! Um, I-I'll see you two later, okay? Bye!" Sakura waved, the fact that she had Naruto's jacket on momentarily slipping her mind, as she dashed out the door with a distracted wave thrown over her shoulder. She faintly heard a "No wait-" and a "Sakura-chan!-" before the door shut.

Sakura hurried into a filled elevator and stretched forward, over the many business men to tap the 1 with the tip of her middle finger. As soon as Sakura reached her level, she dashed out the elevator, trying to move as fast as possible so Naruto and Kakashi wouldn't attempt to stop her. She had to meet Ino, she had a bone to pick with her. A HUGE bone.

"IT'S HER!"

"THERE SHE IS, THE LITTLE SKANK!"

"COME OVER HERE YOU SLUT, I'LL PUNCH YOUR PRETTY FACE IN!"

Sakura skidded to a stop, mere feet away from the glass door, her boots sliding a little on the linoleum floor. "Eh…?" She stared at the women outside the door, their faces contorted with a mixture of envy and anger.

Then, suddenly, it dawned on her.

Those women were screaming at _her_. They wanted to murder _her_. They were gonna kill _her_.

"AW, _C'MON!_" Sakura moaned, slapping her forehead in resignation.

* * *

Yep, I'm done!

Also, I have a question. Who all do YOU want to be in the big thirty-one? Just name, like, your top five or something, kay?

Review? Good? Bad? Eh? Eh? Eh?

Merci,

Red


	3. Sasuke Uchiha

Squee! Reviews!

Disclaimer: Heh. No.

I apologize for any/all mistakes. Give me a break it's almost Christmas.

Enjoy. And such. =)

**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

* * *

January 3rd

* * *

_'And now we bring you live to the scene, where Uzumaki Naruto began his search for the perfect girl to invite to the enormous contest being held in March. His first interviewee, was one Haruno Sakura by recommendation of Super Model Yamanaka Ino. Channel 23 spoke to her as she was trying to leave the building and here's what she had to say:'_

"_Uh, well.. .I, um, I'm kinda only here because I lost a bet. So, I'm not really planning on being er, picked or anything… Hey, listen I gotta go—"_

"_Wait! Can you tell us why you're wearing Uzumaki-san's jacket, please?"_

"_Huh? What—! Oh Crap, I forgot to give it back, uh—"_

"_YOU -Beep- GET YOUR SKINNY ASS BACK HERE!"_

"_HOW DARE YOU HIT ON OUR NARUTO-KUN!"_

"_Oh -Beep- I gotta go, uh, thanks!"_

_'And that is all we could get before the other contestant women tried to—'_

With a tap of her painted big toenail, Sakura skillfully managed to click the channel changer.

_'Though Uchiha enterprises is trying to cover it, we have heard quite a shocking revelation from an anonymous source. It appears that Uchiha Sasuke has decided to be MIA for the time being. In protest of the famous upcoming Contest he has opted for dressing as a civilian and traveling the streets of Tokyo. Apparently he's in hiding, trying his hardest to avoid his colleagues and-' _

Again Sakura switched the channel.

_'In other news, rumor has it that Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi were found brawling across the floor of an office room, during Sakura Haruno's interview with Uzumaki. What exactly they were fighting about has eluded us, but if you have any—' _

Sakura flecked the power switch on the black remote with her calloused heel as she roughly rolled onto her side in a deep blue hand-me-down armchair courtesy of Tsunade. She was utterly exhausted, due to the fact that she had spent the remainder of the previous day running from rabid, jealous Naruto lovers, and then yelling her throat coarse at Ino for getting her into this little farce in the first place.

It was roughly six in the morning, she was only up so early because she couldn't sleep. She kept having nightmares about Kakashi and Naruto trying to eat her. It was starting to get a little repetitive.

So in her haste to find some worthwhile entertainment, she had decided to watch re-runs of random news channels. Sakura glanced wearily out her window, and her emerald eyes were met with a bleak winter gray; the glass was misted over with a thin sheet of ice. Sakura felt cold just looking at it.

Looking outdoors suddenly reminded her of the interview that she would be taking part in today, despite her loud protests, a bet was a bet. And Sakura really liked having a place to live. Abruptly Sakura felt her empty stomach growl with the need for sustenance.

With a start, Sakura pounced from her chair. She was suddenly craving some rich, creamy peanut butter. She energetically leaped to her cabinet in search of the brown peanut scented substances. Her ecstatic face, however, instantly vanished when she reached forward to remove an empty jar. All that remained of the peanut butter were the small crusty smears, randomly placed throughout the clear plastic inside of the jar.

Sakura frowned irately, and chucked the worthless—peanut butter less―container into her stain strewn sink, hearing it clank into the other various plates and eating utensils that filled the silver colored basin. She scratched her pink covered head, with a low yawn before deciding on the only alternative to this very poor situation.

She would just have to go and buy some.

At six in the morning.

Sakura stretched, her arms in the air and she relished in the _crrk_ of her joints as they popped in and out of place. Her tight sleeping shirt and shorts folding to the contours of her sleep deprived body. With a light wriggle of her nose, she stepped up the short staircase of her apartment coming to stop at the landing. The landing to which was her room; no door; no hallway; no privacy; just one big room, with a large bathroom opposite the stairs.

She meticulously picked her way through the scattered items that ravaged the floor, until she came within eye level of her mahogany dresser. With jerky movements, she pulled open the top drawer; rummaging around in search of a less indecent—less tight―shirt.

She quickly pulled out a thick sweater with sleeves too long and wool too white, nonetheless she pulled it over her sleepwear and opted for a pair of pajama pants over her shorts. After she deemed herself worthy of public outing she—after a scoffing glance at Naruto's jacket―lifted her calf-length beige trench coat off her bedpost, where it had been wrung precariously to dry out the sleeves previously drenched with snow

Sakura grabbed her cell phone, keys, and her fur boots, the only appropriate footwear she had owned for weather such as the abysmal snow as this. Stuffing the keys and phone into her coat pocket, she opened her door and took a slow tentative step outdoors. Her warm breath was instantly visible as it ghosted from her lips and evaporated in the dense air. Turning and locking the door, Sakura made the snap decision to brave the weather and walk to the closest convenience store, instead of wasting gas and also drawing unwanted attention this early on a Saturday morning, when teenagers and college students were surely rising from a comfortable, uninterrupted slumber for the work Sakura didn't have to do. So, with a determined face Sakura pulled her hood over her short pink hair and headed off into the murky dismal morning night.

As Sakura walked down a near deserted sidewalk, save for the occasional homeless person, she came in view with the bright sign that glowed fluorescent yellow in the still dark morning, illuminating the ice particles that dappled the air. Sakura quickly scampered her way inside, as the automatic doors slid open for her entrance. The store was small, with limited stock, but it would do. Except for the cashier and Sakura herself, the store was empty of any human inhabitance. Though Sakura was unsure if the cashier really counted, seeing as how he was dozing off face down on the counter.

Sakura chuckled mindlessly, and picked her way down the various aisles in search of her beloved craving. She thought she faintly heard the sliding doors glide open, but so enraptured in her hunt did she take any heed to it. And then quite suddenly, there it was. The item she had been scourging the metal shelves for sat like a savior alone on the rack. Realizing it was the last one left, Sakura immediately scurried down the aisle, all eyes for the delectable substance, she hadn't notice the figure standing right next to the direction at which she was lunging.

Then out of nowhere, the peanut butter disappeared. Just like that, it was gone. "What—?" Sakura reeled, and skid to stop in the empty space. And then she noticed the entity beside her, as if it had just appeared there out of thin air. Instantly, she raised her head to see just who had the nerve to steal the last peanut butter from Sakura Haruno.

Her eyes met with a black haired male, his bangs fell around his face ending at his chin. The rest of his ebony locks, were smoothed down in the back—the same length as his bangs―but it was slightly lumpy as if it had required a great deal of effort to make it agree with gravity. His eyes stared blankly at her, just as obsidian as his hair. Not recognizing the man in any way, Sakura decided it necessary to rebuke him for stealing what was rightfully hers.

"Hey, you. You just took the last peanut butter!" Sakura accused pretentiously, her arms folded. He frowned, perfect eyebrows knitting together. Sakura found herself envious. Why didn't _she _have pretty eyebrows like that?

"And?"

"AND I was gonna get it! So give it back!" Sakura said, appalled at his careless tone, though slightly disturbed at how beautiful his voice did sound. With a self-conscious grunt, she haughtily held out her hand, like a child expecting candy.

"Why should I? I had it first," was all he said, with the same slightly aggravated frown except now it had a small bit of confusion mixed in.

". . .Well, C-cause I'm a poor hopeless girl!" Sakura stumbled in her excuse, since she never really had one in the first place. She just wanted the freaking peanut butter, was that too much to ask? The man averted his gaze to the tiled floor and gave a hollow chuckle. A smirk of mirth marring his beautiful face. Sakura raised a pink eyebrow. Which _wasn't _as wonderfully defined as the man's.

"I'm more hopeless than you, woman," he muttered, more to himself than Sakura, who found herself thoroughly confused. With a jolt, Sakura wondered if maybe she had had just met a psychologically disturbed man, to which it would be much more prudent to flee the scene, before he decided to do something that wasn't dubbed decent. Sakura took subtle step back.

"Why?" She inquired suddenly remembering his recent muttering, closely she watched his facial expressions. She found it easier to read his face than his voice. He turned back to her with a start, he must not have realized he had spoken aloud earlier. Quickly, he shrugged, most likely to hide his surprise.

"_You_ probably have a home." Then he plopped the peanut butter into Sakura's cupped hands, before turning abruptly and heading toward the exit. His black jacket billowing behind him as the sliding doors slid open to let the man take his leave. Sakura stood silent for a moment, staring at the empty space, where he had left. Then she sighed, a sort a resignation inked in her breath as she exhaled.

She just had to help, didn't she?

Throwing the peanut butter behind her, she dashed out the store following the shallow, newly made, footprints in the crystal snow. It was easy to find his hulking form, the gaudy black he wore greatly contributed to that, seeing as how it contrasted so greatly with the pristine white of the snow that surrounded him. Sakura gasped a painfully scathing breath, watching as he sauntered away, head bowed to the cold, oblivious to the pinkette in pursuit.

"Hey! Wait!" Sakura called after him, her voice coming out hoarse. He stopped—waited―for her. She rushed over to his stilled form, her cheeks pink and tufts of warm breath puffing from her blue lips. She slid to a stop, her boots losing traction in the wet snow, she gasped lurching out immediately to cling to his arm, to keep from falling on her butt and soaking her pants. Unfortunately, she had misjudged the distance between her and him and she yelped as her bottom was submerged in cold snow, feeling it seep through both the thin materials of her pajamas and shorts.

"Eep!" she squealed, wincing and biting her lip as she lumbered her shivering way to her feet. She quickly grasped her coat to pull it tighter around her waist area, shielding her wet butt from the searing winds. "That was… wet," she mumbled, her teeth chattering.

She faintly heard a low chuckle, and her head whirled around to stare incredulously at the stoic man. "Are you _laughing _at me?" Sakura growled, stamping her foot in the ankle deep snow, as the yellow-orange sun peeked over the horizon, showering the once dark sky with a dull red. The man lifted his head to smirk at her, and she barely managed to suppress a shiver that rolled up her spine. Inwardly glowering, Sakura wondered how in the hell a man so gorgeous could just be waltzing around the streets, homeless no less!

"Yes, I am." His deep voice interrupted her inner musings, and she jumped in surprise, short pink hair cascading like a waterfall around her face. Realizing the intent of his words she humphed with her fists to her waste.

"You're really rude, you know that?" she exclaimed, sending him a pointed glare. He tilted his head to the side, in a very petulant manner.

"So I've been told," he said, and Sakura felt the atmosphere lighten tremendously as the chilly early morning fog settled in around the two.

"Oh, really?" she retorted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other in the numbing snow. He watched her with black eyes, before shrugging carelessly.

"By friends, family… Never a woman, though," he said with an air of interest, yet well-played nonchalance. Sakura lowered her jaw to speak, but was brutally interrupted by a striking force.

"Sakura-chan! I found you! I found you!"

Sakura felt herself being shaken rather violently back and forth, she felt as if her head was going to snap off her neck. Beside her, with his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders was an ecstatic Naruto, whiskers and all. "N-Naruto…?"

He grinned, "Your one and only!" he proclaimed righteously, rubbing his cheek against her own, as per usual. Then abruptly he paused in his ministrations, "Teme?" Sakura, remembered the black haired man, who was in the midst of staring at Naruto with wide, astonished eyes. But before the man had a chance to reply to Naruto's greeting, albeit the greeting wasn't a very kind one, more accusing if you will, Naruto spoke again.

"Where the hell have you been? And why were you talking to my Sakura-chan?" Naruto bristled, glaring fervently at the black haired male. He snorted in response, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jacket.

"Around. And I wasn't aware the girl was yours," was his elusive retort, as he looked everywhere but Naruto and Sakura. Sakura blushed furiously at the comment, and scowled up at Naruto, who still held her tightly in his arms.

"Tell him I'm not yours, you psycho," Sakura growled, tugging at Naruto's jacket sleeve, she paused. Naruto had the exact same jacket on that Sakura had taken with her… at least it looked just like it. "And how many of these jackets do you _have_?"

"Sakuraaaaaa-chan! I want you to be mine," he whined in her ear, ignoring her latter question as he tugged her closer to him and, again, she felt herself submerged in his engulfing warmth. "I already said I picked you!"

"Look you! I was the _first _person you interviewed! For all you know there could be somebody else out there, somebody better than me!" Sakura explained, watching him hopefully. Her hope soon faded, when her eyes met Naruto's loving grin.

"No way!" Sakura rolled her eyes, and, with all her strength, shoved Naruto off of her. He stumbled back and pouted at her. Sakura merely ignored the somber faces he was directing her way, and returned her attention to the raven haired male in front of her.

"Who are you anyway, or should I just call you Mr. Pain in the ass?" She demanded putting her hands back on her hips to better accentuate her irateness. The man smirked at her, before glancing back at Naruto.

"Nobody special, just a homeless guy. Actually I'm looking for a place to stay. Help me out?"

Sakura's jaw dropped through the ice and she gaped at him, questioning her sanity. Had he—Did this man just ask to live with her? As if on cue, Naruto jumped into action. "NO! Sakura don't say yes to him! He's a lying cheat! He's really Sa—" At that precise moment, the man's fist connected with Naruto's face, sending him flying off in into a pile of particularly cold snow. The ravenette merely smiled, a faux smile. Fake, but oh so dazzling.

"So, can I?"

"Er, was punching Naruto _really _necessary?" Sakura said, avoiding the questioning stare the suddenly emotion capable man was sending her way. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, he burst into a fit of raucous laughter. His musical laugh carried over to Sakura and she merely stared at him, as he held his sides, laugh upon laugh rolling out from his mouth as he gasped for much needed air in between howls. Sakura peered over her right shoulder to see how Naruto was holding up. The blonde had nimbly pounced to his feet, and was now just as equally surprised to see this man guffawing, gaping at the other worldly sight before him.

Sakura jumped, when the man reached his hand out to grasp her shoulder, nearly coughing. Gradually, she lifted her hand to his, as his clutched her shoulder, and held it in place. "Um, are you alright…?" Finally his laughter subsided, and as he raised to full standing he smiled, tears in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You're fine. Hell, even Naruto's fine! Anyway, it would be deeply appreciated if you would allow this humble man to stay at your house for a few nights." And as he announced this; he bowed. Sakura took a short step back in bewilderment.

"Um. I guess you could—"

"Sakura-chan! I told you, no! Sasuke's crazy right now! He needs to get back home, anyway!" Naruto's ever clamorous voice shouted, pulling Sakura against his chest, as he scowled at… Sasuke.

"Dobe, she already said sure. Besides I'm not going back just yet," Sasuke said, his black hair whipping around his face as a rather harsh gust of cold air blasted past. Naruto opened his mouth, most likely for a growling retort when the threesome was suddenly surrounded by camera crews and news women and men all watching them eagerly. Sakura cowered, as the reporters violently shoved their microphones in her face, all of them chattering at once. So much was happening, she could hardly discern what they were saying.

"Run."

Sakura didn't know who had hissed it in her ear, but one second she was surrounded by the press and the next she was being blindly pulled down a stereotypically deserted alley in between buildings, the sun already having fully risen.

"Who—"

"Sakura, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Sasuke. And I'll be your housemate for a few days," came the same low voice Sakura now associated with the black haired man. When her eyes finally focused, she could make out a faint silhouette of the human shaped variety in front her.

"R-right… Wait, isn't Sasuke the name of that famous guy who ran away, because he wasn't ready for marriage or something?"

"Not 'not ready', more like not in the mood. Anyway, Sasuke's a popular name, now show me the way to your humble abode," Sasuke ordered, grabbing her wrist and pointing unceremoniously towards the end of the alley that lead back into the street. Sakura cast him an unsure glance, before suppressing her foreboding emotions and nodding, tugging him along the sidewalk.

As Sakura tread through the melted snow on the gray cement, she couldn't help but wonder who this suspicious, yet attractive, but still suspicious man actually was. He seemed strangely familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it…

Discreetly, Sakura peered over the fluff of her unworn hood, to examine Sasuke covertly. He was glancing behind himself every minute or two, as if checking to see if they were being followed, then he'd turn back to stare at the concrete beneath their shoes, as it sloshed with partially melted snow.

Which wasn't _so _peculiar Sakura supposed with a shrug, before turning back to watch where she was going as they entered the lot of the apartments where she took residence in. Fishing her keys from her coat pocket, she stepped up to the dark green almost black door with the number 73 in gold emblazoned just above the peep hole.

"This is my place, it's kinda small," Sakura muttered, thrusting the brass colored key into the ridged key hole and twisting it with a forceful flick of her wrist. Shoving the door open, she stepped ceremoniously into her one room apartment, reminiscing in the barely detectable natural fragrance that engulfed her. Faintly, she heard Sasuke trump in behind her, still grasping her left wrist he closed the door shut behind him.

"It's not much, but it's home."

"Smells good," Sasuke murmured amiably, taking in the sight that lay before him. The carpeted stairs stood just in front of him, directly across from the door. The living room—Sasuke guessed―was where Sakura was standing, a faded blue velvet looking couch sat against the stairs' railing, with the matching armchair to Sasuke's immediate left. A computer sat in the corner to left of the armchair, and to the left of that, across from the couch was a huge 52' flat screen. It looked completely out of place, sitting in the midst of all the hand-me-downs and Sasuke lifted a perfect eyebrow. To the right of that were four long bookshelves, filled with video games, DVD's and, of course, books.

"The TV was a gift from Ino, my friend," Sakura explained absently, before adding, "don't steal it." Then she headed down the short hallway, where presumably, the kitchen and dining room was. Sasuke only lifted his hand to rub down his hair again, after all, he didn't want her to figure out who he _really_ was.

Sakura sifted through the many items that cluttered her refrigerator in search of sustenance, because a certain homeless man made her forget her peanut butter. She finally decided on a less than half a sandwich leftover from her lunch a couple afternoons ago. She looked it over, and after deeming it proper to eat without passing out or, worse, dying, she strode back to where her guest was standing, still searching her apartment with curious eyes.

"Um, Sasuke? Anything in particular you want right now?" Sakura inquired through a mouth full of bits of white bread, lettuce, tomatoes, turkey and mustard, her favorite type of sandwich. Sasuke's head slowly swiveled down to return to her questioning face, and he smirked at her.

"I was actually up all night walking around in Tokyo, and I was wondering if I could take a nap?" he asked smoothly, lifting one of his feet to slip off the black snow boot that adorned it, setting the boot down by the door he swiftly removed his other one. Sakura scratched her head in obvious thought. On the one hand, he'd be out of her hair, on the other he'd be contaminating her sleeping place with God knows what.

"Yeah, just hold on…" Sakura trailed off, stepping over to the oblivious Sasuke who watched her calculatingly. She stopped inches away from him and sniffed. A husky male aroma drifted through her senses, it wasn't unlikable, not cologne but a natural scent. After all, every guy had one. Sasuke's, however, was definitely becoming and for good measure Sakura took another whiff. _Only _to make sure. Not because she liked the way he smelled. Though, she had to admit, it was peculiar for a homeless man to smell freshly washed.

"W-what are you doing?" Sasuke stuttered out, taking a deliberate step away, so that he was back against the front door. Sakura inclined her head, to glance at his face, and her green orbs fell upon a red smear that covered the top of Sasuke's cheeks. She narrowed her eyes to be sure she wasn't imagining things.

"Are you blushing—"

"Um, so can I go and sleep now?" Sasuke interrupted her, violently throwing off his black jacket to lay it over his boots by the blue arm chair and avoiding eye contact with the curious pinkette. Startled out of her state of mind, by the hasty movement, she shook her head in a feeble attempt to clear it of confusion.

"Er, yeah… I'll be, um, just watching TV or something," Sakura muttered, then pointed up the stairs. "As you can plainly see, I don't have a guest room, so just go up there and sleep on my bed." Sasuke mutely nodded, before dashing up the stairs, Sakura faintly heard him pounce onto her queen sized bed, another present, this one from Tsunade. True to her word, Sakura sauntered over to the couch to collapse onto it, suddenly realizing just how exhausted she was too, and found herself wishing she hadn't let Sasuke take her bed, the little git.

Stretching over to her right, she felt blindly around her end table until her fingers closed around an oblong remote. Pulling it into her line of site, she pressed the orange power button and watched with mild interest as the HDTV came to life.

The scene before her was from the news channel she had been watching approximately an hour ago, and was astonished to see Naruto looking quite irritated as he begrudgingly answered the interviewers' questions. He kept occasionally glancing past the camera, appearing to be trying to find somebody. And that's when it hit her like a ton of bricks. This was recorded earlier that morning after Sasuke had saved her from the frightening audacity of the news crews bent on talking to her.

"_Who was the that you were hugging, Uzumaki-san?" the interviewer asked, holding the microphone up to Naruto's face. He cast the woman an irritated glare, before crossing his arms petulantly._

"_That _was _my Sakura, but you guys scared her off. And now Sasuke's probably raping her, in some dark alley! Now could you _please _let me go and save her?" he growled, glaring fiercely at the poor reporter._

"_Does that mean that you picked Sakura Haruno for the contest?" a different—but just as eager―reporter piped up, shoving his microphone practically up Naruto's nose._

"_No! Now leave me alone!" Naruto hissed, trying to force his way through the crowd of news reporters. Four of the reporters that surrounded him reached out to grasp his wrist and tug him back. "AGH! Stop it, dammit!"_

"_But we still have questions for you!"_

_Naruto, most likely realizing how hopeless the situation was at this point ripped his cell phone out of his pocket, and quickly jabbed seven separate numbers before jerking the phone to his ear as he ignored the cameras shoved into his face. "Hey, Kakashi? Yeah. Sasuke has Sakura. They went to her house! Now go and stop him from raping her- Kakashi? Hello? The bastard hung up on me!"_

Sakura gaped at the television, lifting her hand that held the remote blankly to turn it off. Kakashi? Kakashi was going to show up at her house?

Suddenly, there was a violent pounding on her door. Jumping roughly ten feet in the air, Sakura bolted to the door and slammed it open with such ferocity even the anxious silver-haired man appeared surprised.

"Sakura?"

Sakura glared at him. "How the hell do you know where I _live?_" she screeched, still managing to keep her voice as low as possible to keep from waking the slumbering man upstairs in her bed. If Kakashi knew where she lived, then that meant that the paparazzi knew too. Kakashi wasn't paying her any heed, his gaze searching as he scanned her living room over her head.

"Sakura, I'm a millionaire. It isn't that hard to find out where one little pink haired woman lives," he muttered after she punched his chest, awaiting his answer. "Where's Sasuke?" Sakura was starting to get extremely irritated, as she glared at Kakashi, and her exhaustion only added on to it. The fact that there was a sexy homeless man sleeping in her bed was the metaphorical icing on the cake of frustration.

"Why the hell does everyone know who Sasuke is? He's just a homeless guy, isn't he?" Sakura growled watching Kakashi fiercely as he continued to try to see the rest of her house, half out of curiosity and half still in search of that little bastard.

Upstairs Sasuke rolled over in Sakura's bed, which smelled exquisite, he hadn't barely gotten any sleep because he was too busy feeling overwhelmed with the beautiful scent that surrounded him. Hearing Sakura's angry questions, he guessed it was about time he fessed up. Fortunately for him, he'd already made his decision. Sasuke smirked lethargically, as he pivoted off the bed with an air of just awoken emanating off of him.

He slunk down the stairs, Sakura's back in clear view. As he slipped into Kakashi's vision he offered him a languid smirk, before wrapping his arm around Sakura's shoulders and pulling her to his side.

Sakura eeped in shock, and blushed when she saw the naked torso of the supposedly sleeping homeless guy. "S-Sasuke?"

"_Sasuke_," Kakashi growled, advancing.

It was a wonder how differently one could say a name.

"I've decided Kakashi," Sasuke began, his eyes never leaving Sakura's as he ran a lazy hand through his tousled hair, flaking out the gel as his customary spikes flipped back up to be one with their gravity defying nature. His black eyes bored into Sakura's and she saw a small flash of something, a possessive glint his normally emotionless orbs.

"I've decided to participate in the contest after all. And I choose Sakura," he drawled, smirking haughtily at Sakura, his brand new toy. _His _Sakura.

Sakura gaped at him, when it clicked in her fried brain. This man, this man was Uchiha Sasuke. _The _Uchiha Sasuke. Meaning he wasn't a homeless person. Then quite irrationally Sakura screamed,

"I KNEW YOU SMELLED TOO GOOD TO BE A HOMELESS PERSON!"

* * *

Satisfying? Yes? No?

Yes, there will be a sequel to this story, most likely. because I'm pretty sure this one's ending at 32 chapters, with the last chapter as the conclusion/prologue-for-the-sequel. So the actual contest will be in a separate story. But I'll only make the sequel if I get support on this one, so keep the reviews coming!

Red


	4. Sasori No Akasuna

Disclaimer: I don't own.

I apologize for any/all mistakes.

Enjoy the Sasori-ness!

**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

* * *

January 4th

* * *

"My stupid jacket just _had _to be too wet to wear," Sakura growled to herself as she stuck her key into the ignition of her blue Subaru and rejoiced in the purr of the engine coming back to life, leaning back against the black velvet of the drivers' seat.

She was wearing Naruto's jacket. Not by choice, mind you, she no longer had her lovely trench coat, what with it being soaked completely through by her little morning outing where she'd met Sasuke Uchiha. Who, by the way, she kicked out of her house immediately after finding out he wasn't a homeless person.

Pulling out of the parking lot, Sakura clutched the orange and black jacket tighter to her shivering form with her free hand as she awaited bravely for the heater to kick in and stop shooting freezing ice age air in her pink face. She was on her way to yet another interview, after Ino had practically chased her out of her house screaming like a banshee.

Earlier that frosty morning, Ino had arrived at her apartment the moment she caught wind that Sakura had received flowers. And, okay, it was sweet at first. But after the first four Sakura got damn irritated. Now, her house looked like a freaking flowery bomb went off. She'd received three bouquets from _each _of them.

Sakura glared at the thin sheet of ice that slowly began to creep onto her windshield, blurring the road from view. Begrudgingly, she switched the heavenly heat of the hot air to the windshield in order to melt the aggravating ice that coated it.

Quite suddenly, she felt herself immersed once again in the freezing depths of no heater-ness. Sakura's teeth started chattering together and she immediately jerked her tongue away to narrowly escape an untimely demise. God, she hated the cold. A lot.

As soon as she was done driving blind, Sakura turned the knob to allow the heat to reenter the cold interior of her vehicle and the pinkette basked in the awkward smell that always came with heat as it washed over her, eliminating any ice particles that remained under her skin. Her blue lips returning to their original hue, Sakura jerkily spun the wheel as she barely made her turn, the building of the company was now in sight.

Apparently the man she was supposed to be seeing was—directly quoted from one Ino Yamanaka—'Mean but in a cute way'. Which did little to ease the nervous butterflies that fluttered in Sakura's stomach. Ino could be so unhelpful sometimes.

When the parking lot she was allegedly going to was in view, she carefully drove in, trying with the utmost tenacity not to thoroughly squash all of the raving women that rushed by in their haste to arrive at the building and be the first to meet _the_ Sasori No Akasuna.

Pulling into one of the few empty parking spaces deliberately as far away from the building as possible, Sakura removed her keys and shoved them into Naruto's coat pocket. Maybe if Sakura was fortunate, she would be too late to get an interview.

"Eee! I'm so excited, I get to see Sasori-san!" A particularly gaudy girl groveled at the sight of the fifty story building that belonged to Sasori. Sakura sighed with a roll of her green eyes as she made her way out of her car. She prayed to Kami that none of the women here were Naruto fans, or they'd immediately recognize her—what with the fox boy's jacket—and most likely maul her to death like they've tried so many times before.

Zipping the jacket up all the way and pulling her beanie tighter to her head, she made her way across the parking lot. She had worn the beanie in case of a run in with the press, Sakura knew her pink colored hair would be the one trait they would remember about her. The beanie covered all of her short tresses, except for the very ends but thankfully that was hidden behind the collar of Naruto's jacket. She never thought she'd thank Naruto for anything. Sakura's boots scuffled along with the hordes of women, all with the same destination in mind.

When she reached the building she saw loads upon loads of women all gathering around the front doors, suctioning their faces to the glass like fish. A few hundred girls weren't as eager to throw themselves at the building as if it were Sasori himself and were merely standing around the ever crowded area talking animatedly about how they were going to react if Sasori chose them. Sakura sifted through the women to try to find a place to sit out the twenty minutes they had until Sasori actually began interviewing them.

Finally spotting a bench, on the far outskirts of the crowd with only one person occupying an end, Sakura dashed over to it and gratefully plopped onto the other end. Then rather unexpectedly Sakura's butt practically froze off, when she realized just how cold the metal bench was, after all it _was _metal and it _was _snowing. Sakura cursed herself for her idiocy as she 'eeped' and jumped in the air. The person, whom she couldn't see clearly due to the fact that they were wearing a black baseball cap, shadowing their face from view, chuckled at her before turning back to watch the swarming women.

Sakura stared at the figure for a moment, before realizing that the person who'd been sitting beside her, was a man. Sakura raised a pink eyebrow in suspicion. "What are you, a pervert or something?" Sakura blurted out, after a brief glance at his wholly black appearance. He sort of reminded her of Sasuke. He looked up at her and Sakura noticed the sunglasses that sat on the bridge of his nose as he smirked.

"Sure, why not?" he said in a deep voice, Sakura tilted her head at him in the childish way Sasuke did. From the looks of this man, he was rather young. Most likely in his late twenties if Sakura wasn't mistaken. His fiery red hair fell out from his black cap, it looked shaggy and dull. Maybe this guy was a homeless person? Though Sakura wasn't the _best _judge, Sasuke proved that. Sakura cautiously sat down on the far side of the bench as she watched the mysterious man suspiciously.

"If you're not a pervert than what are you doing here?" Sakura questioned, eying him with crossed arms, Naruto's jacket gathering up at the bend of her elbows. The man sighed impatiently before turning his head back to face her.

"Look. Shouldn't you be… I don't know, fawning over this Sasori guy with the other women?" he asked, giving her an exasperated glare from his slumped position on the bench, his hands stuffed in his black jeans' pocket. Sakura returned his frustrated glare.

"Well, you're rude. And just so you know, I don't _fawn _over men. Especially men I don't know," Sakura stated, sticking her nose in the air petulantly. Seriously, this guy was asking for it. If he went limping home with a bruise on his shin, don't blame her. He scoffed at her and she could practically _feel_ him roll his eyes behind those black sun glasses.

"Sure, if that were true then why're you here?" he inquired with little to no interest as he returned his alert gaze to the large group of women. Sakura crossed her legs up on the bench as she hugged her knees to shield them from the icy wind. Skinny jeans were never very good winter clothing.

Pondering what her answer to this question should be, Sakura thought it best not to say it was a lost bet that brought her to this abysmally irksome place on such a dreary morning, for that was exactly what she'd told the reporters at Naruto's interview and he'd probably recognize her.

"Er, I was forced by one of my friends," she finally replied, seeing as how it was pretty much true, she _definitely _wasn't here of her own accord. He chuckled again, his eyes never leaving a—or what must have been―a particularly interesting participant.

"And what? Now you're gonna tell me you have absolutely no attraction to this Sasori person?" he said in a tone laced with sarcasm as he sneered at whosoever back he was looking at as if he had just found something he didn't like in the oblivious woman. Sakura frowned at his dismissive tone, tugging at the sleeves of Naruto's jacket.

"No, I don't. I've never even seen him before," Sakura answered, again truthfully as she glared reproachfully at the man who sat before her. He choked on his spit and turned to stare incredulously at her.

"What? You're here to be a contestant to marry a man you've never even _seen_?" he exclaimed, gawking at her as if she had grown another head. Sakura shrugged, absently.

"Well, yeah. I mean it's not like I'm gonna get picked or anything right? So who cares," she replied airily, her attention trained on a young girl who had just slipped on a patch of partially melted snow and fallen on her bottom, she had tears in her eyes. A couple of the other women on the edge of the crowd stopped and watched her too, with open curiosity.

"Are you freaking serious? You just came here—"

"_Forced _here," Sakura corrected amiably, a surge of pity for the poor girl across the street flowing through her system.

"Right, so you were forced here, you have no idea who Sasori is _and_ you don't care in the least if you get chosen or not?" he accounted, looking as astonished as a kid who'd just found out the grandma they hated had finally kicked the bucket.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sakura answered, with a shrug. "Oh! But don't tell anybody, if my friend found out I told somebody she'd have my head!" she pleaded, with an innocent smile and enormous eyes, her puppy dog pout. The man reeled a moment, a bit of red coating his pale cheeks as he furiously turned away to face the crowd again, his black gloved hand lifted to his face to cover it.

"Huh? You okay?" Sakura questioned curiously, peeking under the rim of his hat to figure out what was with the sudden reaction. The puppy face _never _worked on anybody, so she hadn't been serious when she used it, maybe she freaked him out or something.

"I'm fine," he said roughly, before clearing his throat. Sakura leaned back and shrugged again, thinking it best not to question it. The man turned back to look at her as she continued to watch the little girl who looked as if she didn't have any parents. Before the red-haired man could voice his impending inquiry, Sakura hopped to her feet and dashed across the street towards the crying child.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she cooed, helping the girl to her feet. The girl had dark hair that fell in her eyes and made her look like a sheep dog as she stared up at Sakura. Sakura smiled at her, realizing with a jolt, this girl reminded her of herself before she met Ino. Though in the back of Sakura's mind she felt a nagging suspicion that she had seen this little girl somewhere before, but she pushed it aside.

"My m-mommy's g-gone!" the little girl wailed, Sakura guessed she must have been five or six at the oldest. Sakura bent down to eye level with her, cheerful smile still adorning her pink face. She tapped the little girl's nose.

"And I'll help you find her! Now, what's your name? Mine's Sakura," Sakura asked, her arms folded over her knees as the girl sniffled and rubbed her red nose.

"M-my n-name is K-Kairi!" she piped up and Sakura grinned at her, nodding with her eyes closed, as if in mute understanding.

"Ah yes, Kairi, beautiful that one is! Now, do you know where you last saw your mommy?" Sakura inquired, her smile growing. Sakura had always been good with children and she could relate to this little girl. It wasn't very hard to get separated from people in Tokyo.

"…A-At the grocery s-store… she told K-Kairi to stay but I left!" Kairi exclaimed, a whole new set of sobs choking from her dry throat and more tears welling up in her blue eyes. Sakura nodded calmly, but internally she knew it would be next to impossible to find out what store she was referring to in a city as giant as the nation's capital. Being that as it was. It'd probably be best to call the police, Sakura stood to her booted feet and dug around in Naruto's jacket's pocket.

Her stomach dropped. _Perfect time to forget your cell phone Sakura, just freaking perfect_! Sakura cursed, when all she felt was her keys. She slapped her face at her own stupidity when suddenly her eyes fell upon the red-haired guy who was watching her curiously. Maybe he had a cell phone. And with that reassuring thought Sakura bent down to scoop the girl up into her arms.

"We're gonna go ask my friend if he has a phone we can use, okay Kairi?" Sakura said cheerily despite the self-anger she was feeling at leaving her phone. She cantered across the street so as to avoid on going cars.

"Hey, do you have a cell phone I can borrow?" Sakura questioned, setting the little girl down on the bench and without a second thought draping Naruto's jacket around her shoulders, Kairi clutched it around her and watched the man closely.

"Why?" he asked, sitting up straighter as he glanced from Kairi to Sakura.

"Kairi, here's, lost and I want to help her find her mother," Sakura explained holding out her hand expectantly. He merely stared at her.

"But you'll miss the interviewing," he stated blankly, taking his hands out of his pockets and indicating to the opening doors and the wild and excited screams of the women as they fought their way to the front. Sakura glared at him and shoved her hand in his face.

"Look, I told you I don't care about that, now could you please let me borrow your phone?" Sakura demanded, trying her hardest to ignore the screeches from the crowd of women, she saw Kairi in her peripheral vision lifting her hands to cover her ears. He carefully pulled the phone out of his pocket and Sakura was extremely surprised to see such a pricey phone in his hands.

"You _really _want to find this girl's parents?" he asked as if checking to make sure she was indeed sane. Sakura's hand dropped and she just about strangled him.

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Then I'll get on it," he murmured, dialing a number that certainly wasn't 911 and holding the phone to his ear. "Yeah, I found someone. You can come get your girl now. Call off the interviews."

Sakura stared at him in oblivious confusion. What did he mean, call off the interviews? Then abruptly Sakura felt a pressure wrap around her waist and she stumbled back in open befuddlement. Kairi had engulfed her in a hug as she grinned up at her, any signs that she had ever been crying nonexistent.

"You're gonna be Sasori-san's wife, Sakura!" she exclaimed, Naruto's jacket looking comically huge on her as she cheered.

"Huh?" was Sakura's intelligent reply as her brain worked it's hardest to comprehend exactly what was going on. The red-haired guy stood to his feet and Sakura realized just how much taller he was than her as he stepped over with a smirk, letting his phone fall back into his pocket.

With exaggerated slowness, he lifted his cap off of his head and Sakura watched as his red hair fell from it like a river, stopping just above his collar. He took his sunglasses off and placed them in his pocket with his cell phone.

"Sakura, right?" he asked haughtily, a self-dignified smirk on his face. Sakura merely nodded, still in wonder at how handsome the guy she was talking to actually was. Kairi jumped away from her and grinned, obviously proud of herself for what reason Sakura couldn't fathom.

"Hi, Sakura! My name is Kairi Ikawa!" she proclaimed, pointing to her chest with her thumb.

And then it dawned on Sakura why she had recognized her earlier. This girl was a famous child actress! God, how had she not realized it at first? But then why was Kairi out here? Why was she pretending to be missing her mother?

"I take it you're still confused?" the guy said gently, smirking from ear to ear satisfactorily. Sakura gave him a pathetic glance and nodded her head, speechless in her confusion. He nodded in understanding. "I best hurry with an explanation before they arrive," he began mysteriously, glancing around the area covertly, before turning back to face Sakura. "I am Sasori No Akasuna and you just passed the test."

Sakura's jaw dropped through the cement as she gaped at him, clearly shocked. "_Wh-what_?"

"Personally, I thought the test was childish, it was my assistant's idea, but I have to say you're much more intriguing than I thought you'd be, Sa-ku-ra," he breathed, bending close to her ear. Sakura 'eeped' and pounced back a few yards, gawking at him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! You've got it all wrong! I didn't _want _to be picked!" Sakura struggled to explain herself as she stumbled over her boots, her hands in front of her face. There was no way she was going to let another one choose her! Oh, Kami what did she _do_?

"I know you don't. That's partially _why _I chose you," Sasori smirked, taking a gathered step towards her, his shoes crunching on the snow. Sakura frantically took a few more steps back, but walking backwards without looking where you're going, tends to have its consequences. Suddenly Sakura felt her foot slip out from underneath her, as she did just what actress Kairi had pretended to do. Preparing for the painful impact with the cold wet cement, Sakura squinted her eyes shut and braced herself.

"You're not falling," came Sasori's simple voice, as he held her around the waist, his gloved hand on the small of her back. Gradually Sakura opened her eyes, and immediately gulped at their proximity. His face mere millimeters away from hers, he smirked again. "Are you alright?"

"F-fine," Sakura piped up, trying her hardest to sink away from his penetrating gaze. Then it occurred to her, a plan to escape this sticky situation; she would have to use her puppy dog pout. It may not be cute, but it affected the red head in some way, right? It was worth a shot!

Sasori held his brand knew obsession in his arms, still tilted over from the lunge to catch her before she fell, he was actually quite satisfied with her, she'd make a perfect candidate for that horrible contest they had to take part in. But just as Sasori was about to stand up and release the pinkette, she did _that _again.

That adorably cute face that she had surprised him with earlier, her beautiful green eyes huge and her mouth pulled up innocently as she tilted her head at him. Sasori paused, his thought process blowing a huge circuit, as he stared at the delectable sight before him. Fortunately, he realized that he had already claimed her as his, meaning he no longer had to resist the urge he had had to previously. With a pleased grin, he tugged Sakura against his chest and nuzzled the pink bangs that spilled out of her beanie with a delighted purr.

Sakura gaped. Was Sasori _cuddling _her? She squeaked in complete, utter amazement, as he held her. Kairi stood at their feet and watched with ill-disguised curiosity. Sakura's face reddened against her will and she gripped his jacket in her hands.

"Er, S-Sasori?" she stuttered into his shoulder, where her face was buried. She wasn't sure if he was able to hear her though. "C-Could you, m-maybe, let me go?" she felt him tense as she awaited his response with a pink face. The only perk in this situation was that he was warm, seeing as how Sakura had discarded Naruto's jacket over to the little faker.

Abruptly, Sakura felt a tugging on her earlobe and her blush deepened when she realized it was Sasori's teeth on her ear. She squeaked again, and attempted to shove against him. "Stop, stop, stop!" she exclaimed, shivering in embarrassment. She heard, or rather _felt_, Sasori chuckle lovingly.

"You're _mine_, _Sa-ku-ra_," he breathed against her sensitive ear, his breath ghosting across her lower neck. Sakura, overwhelmed with stress and confusion practically fainted on the spot. However she was instantly on her feet when a familiar voice growled behind her.

"_Sasori_. What the hell are you doing with _my _Sakura?"

Sasori lifted his head, to come face to face with a rather pissed Uchiha, as he snarled at him. "_Your _Sakura?" the red-head inclined his head to give Sasuke his own dark look. "Is that supposed to be a joke?" he sneered, pulling Sakura to his side, holding her with one arm around her shoulders. Sakura sighed with relief, none to aggrieved with the appearance of the youngest Uchiha.

"No, I saw her first! Now give her back, she belongs to _me!" _Sasuke hissed, taking a step forward his black cloak swirling in a particularly freezing gust of wind ripped by. Sasori shielded Sakura from the cold, before glaring at the younger man.

"And when exactly did you dream that, Uchiha?" he jeered, before turning his head to nuzzle Sakura's pink hair, and Sakura realized with dread that her beanie had fallen to the cement. Sasuke's fists clenched, and rage practically radiated off of him at Sasori's deliberately goading actions.

"Let her go, you bastard!" Sasuke howled, possessive jealousy inking his words, as he lurched forward but halted himself from full on jumping the red haired man. Sasori smirked.

"I don't think so, Sakura is _mine_," he purred, once more nibbling on Sakura's ear. Sasuke narrowed his obsidian orbs, _nobody _touched what was _his_. With a shout, Sasuke lunged at Sasori, who quickly released Sakura to block Sasuke's rapid punches as they both fell the concrete. Sakura immediately backed away, grabbing her beanie from the ground and slipping it back onto her head as she watched the two try to kill each other, much like Kakashi and Naruto had done two days ago. Sakura was getting a serious case of deja vu.

"Um, shouldn't you be stopping them, Sakura?" Kairi's small voice inquired, as she hid behind Sakura's legs for fear she might be hurt by the murderous men. Sakura wondered just where exactly were the people that Sasori had phoned and how in the hell had Sasuke found out where they were.

"Right. Er, Guys. . .guys! GUYS STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Sakura shrieked at the tops of her lungs, sucking in cold air as she gasped for breath. Her scream had the affect intended for the two stopped punching each other to stare at Sakura in fear. "Now get up!" Sakura ordered and they both jumped to their feet, sending glares of hatred back and forth. "I'm going to leave! 'Cause I'm exhausted and you two are freaking annoying!" Sakura growled, rubbing her temples in agitation.

"But Sakura—"

"No buts! Sasori! Give me your cell phone!" Sakura demanded, and Sasori extricated his cell phone and dropped it into Sakura's hand. Sakura knelt down to hand it over to Kairi. "Here, call your agent or whatever and get yourself home okay?" Sakura said, her eyes softening. Sasuke and Sasori watched enviously, why did she have to glare at them and give _her _the tender, loving treatment?

"Okay, Sakura! Oh, and here's your jacket!" Kairi remembered, pulling off Naruto's jacket and setting it in the pink haired girls' lap. For once, Sasori actually _looked _at the jacket and suddenly realized it was that little blonde idiot's. His left eye twitched, just _how _many men had Sakura seduced with her cute stature? She was _his, _dammit!

"Thanks," Sakura smiled, with a laugh, before pulling the warm jacket over her shoulders and zipping it up halfway, seemingly impervious to the winter cold that surrounded her. Sakura brushed it off as the fact that she was seething with irritation. In the back of her mind, she pondered if snowflakes were melting on contact with her.

"Sakura, please—"

"No, shut up. I'm going home. And you're _not _going to follow me," as she said this she gave a pointed glare in Sasuke's direction. He pouted and looked the opposite direction.

"Bye, Sasuke. Bye, Sasori."

With her farewells said, Sakura spun on her heel and stalked her way to the parking lot. Sasori marveled in the way his name sounded from her lips and he merely collapsed onto the bench beside the already resigned Sasuke.

"This is all _your_ fault," Sasuke spat, crossing his arms petulantly at the thought of _another _man pining after _his _Sakura. Sasori glared at him.

"No, it's your fault," he growled.

"No, it's yours!"

"Yours!"

"Yours!"

"IT'S BOTH OF YOURS FAULTS, NOW SHUT UP!" Kairi screeched, as her limousine drove up to the curb. "No wonder Sakura hates you both," she muttered climbing in. Sasuke and Sasori glowered.

"Nobody asked you, you damn brat!"

* * *

Yeah. I got this one done early, it's just so easy to write for this story!

Christmas Break equals faster updates!

By the way, Kairi is just an OC, she probably will never show up again…

For those of you who want to, I have a poll for this story on my profile. It's just who's interviews you want me to do next. Every time I do one of them, I'll take him off the poll. So anyway, whoever you want next, go and vote for him!

Whoever has the most votes will be in the next chapter.

Review!

red


	5. Itachi Uchiha

Sorry this one took so long, I meant to put it up _before_ New Year's… Sigh. Oh well.

Disclaimer: I _wish._

I apologize for any/all mistakes. It's the Holidays, man.

Enjoy, Itachi!

**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

* * *

January 5th

* * *

Sakura gaped.

She had never witnessed so many screaming women in one place. _Ever_. She stood, glued to the concrete, a mere foot away from her car's bumper. The empty lot was in the process of being filled with an innumerable amount of squealing ladies as they rushed excitedly towards the front of the crowd, pushing and shoving each other violently.

"Holy shit," Sakura cursed, as a tall woman brandished her stiletto heel like a yakuza and grappled her way through the ever escalating amount of females. Sakura could already foresee much spilled blood would come out of this event as she kept to the very edge of the humongous group, her safety much more important to herself than some pompous rich guy.

Idly, Sakura pondered why the man had decided on holding his interviews way out in the middle of nowhere, which, by the way, was extremely strenuous to find in Tokyo. She must have driven at least three hours to find the deserted lot on the very fringe of the capital. And was it her, or was it warmer out here than in the city?

"Ugh! You bitch, move!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, what a rich, sexy man could do to women simply amazed her beyond any meaningful comprehension. Boredly, maybe curiously, Sakura glanced around the giant slab of concrete. She found a few other women were following her example and keeping out of the path of the crazy, ballistic fans. Good for them, she congratulated and absently wondered if they had similar reasons to hers for being here in the first place as she saw them frown disapprovingly at the throng of women.

"LADIES!"

Resembling Naruto's hectic interviews, the women immediately froze with what they were previously doing to stare expectantly at the man who stood, stationary behind the 'DO NOT CROSS' yellow tape.

"Itachi Uchiha will be arriving shortly, until then will you please calm yourselves? Anyone to speak or move out of turn will be thoroughly extricated from the premises."

Ooh, _harsh_, Sakura thought dryly as the man returned to the small table that sat just behind him. Uninterestedly, Sakura scratched her head and turned to face her car on a whim. The thin layer of snow that had formed atop it, stood out beautifully against the blue paint job. And Sakura fleetingly decided, that if that snot of an Uchiha was going to take even longer, it'd just be more prudent to relax.

Because the cold wasn't so bad as yesterday, due mostly to the fact that it was hardly snowing that day, Sakura trotted lightly over to the front of her Subaru and dropped herself to the white ice, lazily leaning back against the front bumper of the car, her black pants bunching up at the joints.

Now level with the knees of over hundreds of women, Sakura felt overcome with a sudden drowsiness, Naruto's coat ever-warm against her skin as she buried her face in it to heat her pink nose. Her eyes half-lidded and the slow tedium of the excited voices that surrounded her became more and more monotonous with every passing second. Soon enough, the pinkette found herself in a light slumber, the minuscule flakes that landed on and around her doing nothing to disturb her pleasant sleep.

When Sakura awoke, it was to the screams of outrage that pierced her eardrums violently and broke her from her spell. Her eyes shot open and she wildly swung her head around to learn the reason behind the earsplitting screeches.

Abruptly, Sakura noticed the number of women in front of her had sorely decreased to barely over a hundred, with some furiously stomping girls making their angry ways to their parked vehicles.

"What the…" Sakura jerked her head to send a confused stare in the direction of the crowd. Then suddenly she realized a new man sitting languidly at the small table.

He had a frown on his face, which was little to nothing unusual as he practically glowered at the remaining females. Itachi Uchiha. She would recognize an Uchiha anywhere. Inwardly, Sakura cursed herself for falling asleep as she pounced to her feet and lifted Naruto's jacket's sleeve to glance at her watch.

It had been roughly two hours.

"HOLY—" Sakura immediately flung her hand to her mouth and nervously glanced around to be sure nobody had heard her. Holy crap! How could she have slept that long? And what the hell was happening? Sakura's face was frantic at the inner turmoil that spun around her dizzying head, she could swear her eyes were spinning.

"I-I… I am Huzuku Airashi and I am t-twenty two years old!" a furiously red faced girl stuttered as she stood to the left of the table, her gloved fists clenched nervously. Sakura tilted her head in confusion, from where she stood, now much farther away from the shrunken crowd of women. She stared as the man from before held a paper in his right hand and gave her an irritated glare.

"What do you do for a living?" he questioned tersely as if he were tired of doing this. The girl flinched at the icy tone of his voice, but held her ground, gulping.

"I'm a r-registered nurse!" she finally choked out, her eyes screwed tightly shut. Sakura felt anger swell in her stomach at Itachi and the man for making this poor girl speak in front of all these leering women when it was obvious she was embarrassed.

"At such a young age?" the man inquired, and Sakura could hear the astonishment in his voice, even if his face remained as stoic as the Uchiha who sat next to him. The girl nodded her head vigorously, her short brown ponytail whipping around her face.

"Hm. Interesting, you may go," the man dismissed, clipping the paper into his clipboard resting on the table. The girl—Airashi—looked relieved, as she rushed to make her way back into the crowd. "Well, that seems to be everyone—"

"No. That woman hasn't gone yet."

Everybody jumped at the sound of the silent Itachi's voice as it rang out and drifted away in the winter wind, his hand lifted to point to the back of the crowd. Immediately, Sakura felt hundreds of eyes turn to stare at her. She froze like a deer caught in headlights and gaped at Itachi as he watched her impassively.

Hurriedly, Sakura's frantic brain kicked into action, and she waved her hands in front of her face violently. "Eh, no! That's fine! I was planning on leaving, any… way…" Sakura trailed off as she scrutinized the Uchiha. He had lifted two fingers and flicked them lightly, and before Sakura could comprehend the situation she was being hauled to the front of the crowd by two burly bodyguards she hadn't seen earlier.

Agh! What was she going to _do?_ If the camera guys caught sight of her, she'd surely be branded as a whore when they recognized her from Naruto's interview! Especially with the jacket she was currently donning! Sakura cursed herself for wearing it, she just couldn't help it, it was _so _much warmer than her other jackets.

With her eyes as tightly screwed closed as the previous girl, Sakura was dropped to the pavement. She stumbled ungraciously and awaited the screams of recognition. When nothing but awaiting silence met her carefully prepared ears, Sakura tentatively opened her green eyes, before hysterically seeking out the news crews. When nothing but drifting snow and empty, parked cars met her vision she suddenly realized why Itachi had chosen such a remote location to conduct his interviews.

"Ahem, your _name?" _the rude voice cut into her shock and she turned abruptly to stare in puzzlement at the impatient man. When it finally clicked what he had said, she gulped and with one last hard glare at Uchiha Itachi, opened her mouth.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, and I am twenty-three years old," she recited the information that the last girl had said with ease and glanced expectantly at the man, internally praying for this to be over and done with so she could just _leave_. And hopefully nobody recognized her from Naruto's interview, after all, these were women obsessed with Itachi, right?

"What do you do for a living?"

Sakura had expected that. "I'm currently unemployed, I go to college on a scholarship," she answered, restlessly, fidgeting with the ends of Naruto's sleeves again as she stared at the snowy concrete below her shoes.

"Ugh. That'll be all—"

"Wait. I want to ask her a few myself," Itachi voiced, holding his hand up to the man beside him, signaling for him to stop.

In unison, the crowd gasped, before their surprise immediately melted into anger and jealousy as Sakura had a slight feeling of deja vu. She flinched away from their envious glares of obvious hatred. It's like they weren't even trying not to be rude!

Sakura slowly shifted her gaze away from the women, for fear they'd maul her once her back was turned, to glare at Itachi for causing this reaction. He was eying her clothing with amusement.

"Why are you wearing Uzumaki Naruto's jacket?"

Sakura winced. No! Anything but that question! Please! She quickly shot him a pleading look, begging the Uchiha to be merciful and just let her go home. But apparently Itachi had other ideas and he merely watched her expectantly.

"Naruto gave it to me," she muttered reluctantly and, rather suddenly—but not unexpectedly―the crowd of women burst into an outrageous uproar. Sakura sighed, before sending Itachi an 'Are-you-happy-now?' glare and crossing her arms stiffly.

"QUIET!" the man ordered at the top of his lungs as the women's furious calls and jeers gradually subsided. "Haruno, in what way are you affiliated with Uzumaki-san?" he demanded, settling back down and fixing his ruffled clothes. Sakura cringed, this was the _last _question she wanted to answer and she fiddled with the sleeves again, thinking of the best not indecent answer she could give that wouldn't be a complete and total lie.

"He's... a friend," she finally answered, wondering irately if that was a fib or not. _Was _Naruto her friend? Well, she'd like to think so, but the irritating blonde definitely wanted to be more than that. _That _was obvious. Again, she felt Itachi's eyes on her and she promptly tried her hardest to ignore him, glancing in the opposite direction.

"Hm… and why are you here?" he asked, his arms crossed and a rather eerie smirk plastered onto his face. Sakura frowned instantly and she smacked her face. What were the odds, that this man would manage to ask every question she didn't want to be asked? Her eyes shot around wildly, searching for an excuse. When she finally came to a halting decision, she took a deep breath. She would tell most of the truth. _Most _of it.

"My friend made me come here," she replied, trying her hardest to make it sound casual and not as if there was some deep underlying meaning behind the plain-Jane excuse. In her peripherals she saw Itachi's smirk grow as if that was what he'd wanted to hear.

"And is that friend here now?"

Sakura swiveled around to stare at him, what was he getting at? What could that possibly have to do with... _anything_? She grit her teeth, maybe he was just toying with her, not that Itachi was much of a person to mess with somebody's feelings but...

"No, she's busy," Sakura said elusively, trying to ignore the way the women glared at her, and yet were strangely interested in the conversation—if you could call it that—that her and Itachi were having.

"And would this friend happen to be the famous super model Ino Yamanaka?"

Sakura felt her stomach drop and rise like a roller coaster and she shot Itachi a rather incredulous look, her pink hair flailing around her face. Itachi, not once looking up from his lowered stare at the table, sighed.

"She recommended a 'Haruno Sakura' to me. She said you were a short pink haired girl and also informed me that you would be quite the unwilling one," he enlightened, a careless tone now seeping into his voice as he nonchalantly leaned back against his chair. Sakura gawked at him, and before she could catch it, her common sense flew out the window.

"_What?_ You mean to tell me, you knew who I was the _whole _time? Then why the _hell_ did you make me come up here?" Sakura lashed out, glaring hotly at the indifferent Uchiha.

Finally, he lifted his eyes to meet hers and, again, a satisfied smirk spread across his face. "You may go, now."

Sakura froze, trying her hardest to keep herself under control as her clenched fists twitched violently in furious rage. With a low growl, she ground her heels into the cement and mentally forced herself to stiffly stomp back toward the crowd of women. Those of which seemed oddly relaxed as if Itachi's abrupt dismissal had somehow appeased them.

When Sakura had finally reached the very periphery of the legion of females, she had already decided to 'screw it' and get the hell out of there. But before she could finish her ruthless tromping through the layer of snow that covered the pavement, her cell phone vibrated loudly in Naruto's jacket pocket, scaring the pinkette out of her wits.

Hurriedly, she fished around the huge pocket to grab her flip phone and flung it open against her ear. "Hello?" she called out bitingly, hoping whoever was phoning her would get the message and hang up. Unfortunately for her, said person wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed or maybe he was and he just didn't feel like being it at that particular moment. Either way, he _really _should have hung up.

"Hello, Sakura," came a pleasant voice that undoubtedly belonged to none other than the illustrious Sasori no Akasuna, completely oblivious to—or simply ignoring—Sakura's agitation. Sakura sighed in irritation, stopping to glare at Itachi over her shoulder as the man beside him made to announce something.

"_What,_ Sasori? I'm kind of pissed right now," Sakura muttered, rubbing her forehead to try and disperse the oncoming headache.

"Oh, really? How come?" Sasori inquired, seeming suddenly quite interested in the conversation, wanting nothing more than to find out what ailed his precious Sakura. The pinkette opened her mouth to reply when she was interrupted by the booming voice of the man.

"And now will the following women, please evacuate the premises."

Sakura spun around to get a clearer view, inwardly curious as to who they were going to send packing. As the uptight man began to list off the women that he and Itachi preferred gone, Sakura once again heard the screams and squalls of raging fury as a wave of violent wrath overtook her. 'The Dismissed', as the green eyed girl decided to refer to them as, began to thrash wildly through the fallen snow, taking their anger out on the fluffy white beneath their feet.

"Sakura? What _is _that?" Sasori's disturbed voice came from the other end and Sakura immediately remembered the red head she had been speaking to. She guessed he must have been referring to the screams of ire as they rang in her ears, because he sounded completely weirded out.

"Ah, um... A few girls just got sent home, at an interview," Sakura answered reluctantly, knowing lying would be difficult, seeing as how thinking up an excuse for those horrible screeches would be rather arduous. His reaction was as Sakura had predicted it to be.

"What? You're at an interview? _Who's_?" he growled, seeming to be attempting to keep himself from blowing apart the city to find her. Sakura gulped, as she spun back around to face the parked cars, instead of the tiny number of ecstatic remaining women.

"Ne, don't you have some… millionaire stuff to do or something?" Sakura feebly tried to divert his attention, but her question was only met with a hiss of warning.

"_Sakura_…" Sasori snarled and she could practically feel the frustrated glare he had on his face. She flinched, accompanied with a sigh of resignation, completely unawares to the Uchiha who had just stepped into the crowd of ladies.

"Okay, okay, it's… Itachi's," she replied unwillingly as she frowned at the melting snow before her and hoped it was dissolving under her intense hate waves.

"Why—?"

Sasori's voice was suddenly gone, as was Sakura's cell phone.

Immediately, the petite girl attempted to jerk around and find the thief, when an arm was wrapped around her shoulders, constricting her in place against whoever it was' chest.

"Who is this?" The deep, and slightly irritated—though he thought it irrational―voice instantly alerted Sakura as to _who _was at her side presently. Itachi Uchiha.

She supposed Sasori must have replied, because Itachi's arm instantly flexed against her shoulders and his strikingly red eyes widened in surprised. "Well Sasori, Sakura's busy right now, you can call her later—actually, you know, never mind. Don't bother," he said passively and, without waiting for an answer, he flipped the phone closed and slid it into Naruto's jacket pocket.

"Sakura, come. We don't have time for you to be fooling around with idiots like him."

With that, he released her and made his way back to his seat. The remaining eight women all gaped at her, but before they could release their unnatural jealousy upon Sakura's soul, Itachi brushed passed them and they were instantly captivated.

Sakura growled and for a moment entertained the thought of trying to escape, but one steely glare from the buff bodyguards and she was rushing to stand behind the excited women. The man rose again, and Sakura absently wondered what the hell his name was, as he stood against the woody backdrop behind him and opened his mouth to speak. "Alright, now there are only nine of you women left. Each of you will take a fifteen minute walk along the path through the small woods behind me with Itachi, alone. And after all of you are done, he will decide which one of you he will choose."

Sakura immediately glowered at the prospect of being alone with someone as infuriating as Itachi in the woods. She'd have to admit, she'd much rather brave a poisonous cobra than be alone with _any _guy in the middle of a shady looking bit of woods.

"Itachi? You may choose who you want to go with first," the man said, stepping back. Itachi stood to his feet once again and made his way forward. As a particularly cool gust of winter wind blew by, he lifted his hand to brush his bangs out of his face, and in doing so, revealed the glimmer of a sinister smirk. Sakura gulped audibly, she had a _bad _feeling about this.

"_Sakura_," he said, pointing at her again as he had when he first saw her. She flinched and tried her hardest to hide behind a different woman, but Itachi merely chuckled and the dreaded hand raised to flick two fingers. As expected the same two burly men dragged her to the entrance of the small wood, Itachi already trotting over to them.

"Um, I _really_—"

"C'mon," Itachi directed, gripping her shoulders and steering her along the dirt path. When he finally released her, she was pouting distraughtly, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"Why the hell did you have to choose me?" she questioned, glaring at him in all her fluffy pink cuteness. Itachi lifted a black eyebrow.

"Such course language, Sakura," he smirked, walking down the wet path, damp dirt stirring underneath his feet, as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Sakura stared after him for a moment, contemplating if maybe this was the perfect time to make her grand escape. "If you try to run, I'll just get my men to bring you back, you know."

Sakura inwardly cursed the Uchiha and reluctantly followed after him, keeping a fair amount of distance away. She absently let her green eyes trail up the long, willowy trees surrounding them, bare of their leaves previously shed in the dull of fall. "So, Sakura, do you know my little brother?" Itachi suddenly inquired, making Sakura flinch in surprise.

"Eh? Um… yeah," she muttered, images of the lying little bastard invading her thoughts and she thoroughly removed them with a frown. She was still mad at Sasuke… and Sasori too, for that matter. She just couldn't deal with two guys rolling on the floor fighting, especially when they started ignoring her. _That _was something Sakura didn't tolerate, no matter who it was from.

The green eyed girl was so caught up in her inner musings, she didn't notice Itachi pause, until she was side by side with him, where he promptly started moving again, keeping in step with her.

"Yes, he's quite popular with the younger woman. I'm sure you've seen him all over the news? Or perhaps you'd heard of him before he ran away?"

"No. I met him at a grocery store and now he frequently calls me on a daily basis," Sakura's mouth blurted out without thinking of the consequences of saying such a statement and her hand immediately flung to cover her mouth, the woolly scent of her gloves invading her nose. "Um, I mean—"

"You talk to my brother?" he questioned, looking extremely astonished as his perfect mask of indifference faltered. Sakura gulped, what had she gotten herself into? Smooth, Sakura, how the hell was she supposed to get herself out of _this_ one? Pausing, Sakura cleared her throat to buy more time, as Itachi watched her curiously. What should she do? What should she do?

Ultimately, Sakura opted for the truth. Maybe, if she was lucky Itachi'd think she was a whore and decide to 'dismiss' her. "Well, um… I kinda, sorta lost a bet with Ino Yamanaka… and I had to participate in a number of interviews. Let's just say your brother chose me to be the his chosen woman for the Contest," Sakura explained, avoiding Itachi's calculating eyes and going back to nervously picking at Naruto's sleeves.

"If Sasuke chose you, then why the hell are you here? Are you some kind of slut or something?" Itachi asked and his voice was brutal as he glared down at the pink haired girl beside him with the utmost disgust. Sakura flinched at his words.

"No!" Well, there goes her plan. "Ino said I _had _to take part in every interview, no matter what! I tried to tell her that I didn't want to, but that blonde little bitch wouldn't _listen_ to me!" Sakura shouted in anger, more to herself now than at her current listener. Itachi froze beside her and she found her feet stopping too, idly, she noticed that the scary men could probably still see them.

"So, you don't want to, but you belong to my brother… ?" Itachi mumbled, his hand to his chin in obvious thought. Sakura's eyes widened and she was quick to protest the statement.

"What! No, I don't—"

"Shut-up," Itachi murmured grabbing her by the arm and dragging her into the dense trees, clear out of the view of anybody. Sakura instantly fired at up at his impertinence, growling, she ripped her arm free.

"_You_ shut-up! You're the one who's been torturing me since I first saw you! You stupid, self-righteous bastard—"

Sakura was abruptly cut off by Itachi's lips on hers and her eyes widened. He pulled her against him, molding his mouth to hers and she felt him lick her lips.

Immediately, Sakura shoved away from the older Uchiha, glaring at him while wiping her mouth with Naruto's sleeve. Itachi smirked at her, putting his hands on his waist.

"Sakura Haruno. I choose you as my woman for the contest," he stated, seeming extremely satisfied with himself, much like Sasori had been. Sakura's glare increased tenfold, she was _not _a Pokémon!

"_What?_ You just figured out I'm your brother's choice! What the hell is _wrong _with you?" Sakura screeched, looking scandalized as she took a wary step back. Itachi's smirk only grew and he leaned forward to shove it in her face.

"To each his own. Any _more _boyfriends your Itachi should know about?"

Sakura physically gagged and stared at him incredulously.

"_What_? What do you mean _my _Itachi, hell no!" she growled, scowling at the persistent retch that stood only feet away from her. There was _no _way she was going to have _another _suitor.

"Hell _yes_." Itachi grinned maliciously and reached his arms out to pull the pinkette into his possessive embrace. "And you're _mine_," he whispered against her ear, inhaling her strawberry scent and holding her tighter.

"_Sir!_"

Sakura felt Itachi immediately―reluctantly—lift his head at the call, his eyes were met with a furious looking red head, a huge bodyguard stumbling behind him. "_Uchiha_…" Instantly, Sakura glanced up at the familiar voice to see Sasori standing a few feet away.

"Sasori—!"

"Itachi, sir! I tried to stop him…" the bodyguard trailed off when Itachi turned to him, looking as impassive as ever.

"Dismiss the women, and… Shisui. Tell him I have some important business to finish up, but I'll be there in a few moments," Itachi ordered, and Sakura took this moment to try and escape his grasp, but her attempts were futile, as his hold never relented. The huge man nodded, before running back.

Itachi made sure he was gone before he spoke again. "Sasori, what brings you here?" he said lightly, resting his head on top of Sakura's as he spoke.

"You know damn well why I'm here, now release Sakura! She belongs to me!" Sasori growled, glaring fiercely at the older Uchiha. God, it seemed like all his problems revolved around the Uchiha family. Stuck up brats, the lot of them.

"I don't think so, Sasori. I have my own devices to work and Sakura is part of them. She's _mine _now," Itachi smirked, rubbing his cheek against the top of Sakura's head to taunt the aggravated man. Sakura rolled her eyes, at least Itachi acknowledged the fact that other people believed she was theirs' too… But she wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Sasori's brown eyes visibly darkened and his fists clenched.

"You bastard… You're just like your annoying brat of a brother," he said murderously and Sakura could practically see the killing intent radiating off of him. Sakura cringed in fear of what could possibly be coming next.

Another all-out brawl.

"Sasori, my brother and I are not alike. We just have the same… _tastes_," Itachi purred, inclining Sakura's head towards him and licking her cheek before smirking in Sasori's direction. Sakura's face burst into a deep shade of red and she jerked her head down to stare at her hands, finding them fiddling with the jacket sleeves again. Sasori's fury was not one to be taken lightly as he lurched forward.

"That's it you perverted bastard!" he shouted, lifting his fist and swinging towards Itachi's face. The Uchiha immediately lifted a hand to stop the punch, holding Sakura tightly with his other.

"Violence is not the answer, Sasori. Control yourself," Itachi ordered sternly, holding Sasori's fist tightly in his own. Sakura quietly pondered if these two were acquainted prior to her involvement at all because they sure seemed to know each other well. Sasori pulled his hand back, still glowering at Itachi.

"Now, if you please, _my _Sakura needs to be escorted to her car," Itachi smirked, as he ushered Sakura away, leaving Sasori to glare scathingly at his back. Sakura glanced over her shoulder to send the red head a pathetic wave as Itachi dragged her down the path and back out of the woods.

"Now you never _did _answer my question, Sakura."

"What question…?"

"Are the any _other _boyfriends I should know about?"

* * *

Itachi: The sarcastic and spiteful one. Who would have guessed? Not me, that's for sure.

You know, I think Itachi got the most action out of all the guys so far. Tut, tut. That is _so _not fair.

Anyway, the main reason this took so long, was because I wrote about five pages of it and then decided it wasn't worthy of you guys' eyes. So I redid all of it, just for you!

Review if you liked it! And this is the last chance to see the poll's results, because after that I'm taking it off and cracking down on the next chapter!

Review for Gaara!

red


	6. Gaara Sabaku

It is GAARA time! Yay.

Disclaimer: Not in your life, man.

I apologize for mistakes and stuff… and for the FOREVER it took to get this up.

**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

* * *

January 6th

* * *

"So… Gaara?"

"Yeah, he's an asshole and he'll probably hate you when you first meet him. Let's just hope it stays that way."

Sakura nodded awkwardly, unsure of how to answer such a statement as she plodded down the dank, gritty sidewalk. Her boots squished in the melting snow, strewn about as it withered away in small watery rivulets and sharp, frosty raindrops plunged into the white ice.

"Right… Oh, tilt the umbrella this way, I'm getting wet." Absently, Sakura gestured to the black umbrella that was held over their heads, listening to the gentle tattoo of rain thudding against the black vinyl that shielded her from the frigid drops.

"Sorry. Hey, I mean it. Don't make him want you, like you did everyone else…" Kakashi ground out, with a low growl, shaking out the water from his silver hair. Sakura pondered silently if the gel would wash out from the rain or if his hair naturally defied gravity.

"I don't do it on purpose, do you think I _want _all these idiots chasing after me?" the pink haired girl muttered, brushing a stray strand of pink out of her eyes.

She and Kakashi were on their way to the interview of one Gaara Sabaku. Originally, Ino was going to accompany Sakura, but Kakashi interceded and offered/forced her blonde friend to allow him to be her escort. So, on they walked, Kakashi donning his mysterious black mask and covering the lower half of his attractive face. Sakura heard him chuckle, a low, handsome laugh.

"Well, most women would enjoy being fawned over by a bunch of rich men, ne? It sounds almost ludicrous to believe otherwise," he said meaningfully, lifting the hand, that wasn't occupied by the umbrella, to ruffle her damply flattened pink hair back to its natural fluffy, flamboyant self.

"Right, right. Then I guess I'm completely ludicrous, because I certainly believe otherwise, Kakashi," Sakura side stepped a trivial amount of space to place herself closer to the heat emanating off of the man beside her and away from the wet, cold weather around her.

Stealthily—_smoothly_—said man lifted his left arm to wrap it around her orange and black colored jacket covered shoulders and hauled her against his side, leaning, slightly, against her smaller frame.

He sighed. "That's the problem with you, Sakura. If you were _normal _we wouldn't be having this problem now would we? Because, most certainly, that fact is what's attracting all these undeserving men to you," Kakashi stated, inhaling deeply, basking in the aroma that filled his nostrils and made him shiver in delight. "You smell absolutely luscious in the rain, you know that?"

"It's not my fault you guys' testosterone levels blow through the roof when I'm around. It's not like I enjoy being the center of attention, do you know how rape-like that feels—"

"Hey, I don't enjoy it much either."

"I mean, here _you _are hugging me and before, Naruto, holding me and just yesterday, Itachi kissed me! _Kissed _me, Goddammit! That is _not _tolerable in my book!" Sakura ranted as if she hadn't been interrupted, fisting her hands in her jacket pockets and glaring at the watery sidewalk. While Kakashi, unbeknown to Sakura, tensed.

"Itachi _what?" _he hissed, the knuckles on his hand turning white from the amount of ferocity flowing through his clenched fist. Sakura, startled by the sudden animosity in his voice, immediately jerked her head up to stare at the white haired man.

"Kakashi?"

Then suddenly, abruptly, Kakashi yanked his mask down to his neck, jealousy flaring in his one visible black eye, because how _dare _Itachi, that pathetic Uchiha, take _his _woman's lips before himself? Absurd! He won't stand for it! Sakura was his, _first_.

And just as he planned, he claimed the pinkette's lips in a possessive kiss, mashing their lips together aggressively, as all thoughts of the wretch Itachi, were diminished in both their minds.

Sakura gasped minutely as she felt Kakashi, run his tongue over her pink lips and smirk unquestionably. Her mind was most definitely having a hard time comprehending. She had just explained to the man that she was in obvious anger about being kissed and he suddenly gets the idea that it's intelligent to kiss her at that moment? Does that even make sense? Sakura's green eyes widened as Kakashi let the umbrella fall from his hand to wrap it around her and pull her towards him.

With a jolt, she realized, Kakashi must have penetrated her defenses, AKA her lips, for his tongue was inside her mouth and tasting very … different. And not in a bad way, either. The rain fell fast and hard on the two, and Sakura immediately pushed him away from her.

"What the hell, Kakashi? Now my jacket and hair are all wet! Hurry up and get the freaking umbrella!"Sakura ordered crossly, trying her hardest to ignore the way her stomach flopped and clenched and flopped again and the taste that remained increasingly obvious in her mouth and on her lips. Kakashi stared at her for a short second, to gauge her expression, before licking his lips in a feral way and darting to the left to retrieve the umbrella that had, fortunately caught on a tree stump in the stormy winds.

Sakura took the minuscule moment of solitude to sigh in irritation, how was she going to fix this? Doubtlessly, it was going to be awkward all the way to the Sabaku Corporation building if she didn't manage to say _something_.

"I got it, Sakura." Sakura almost squealed in shock as Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of her, the umbrella held above her and his head. She noted the way his silver hair had been slightly slicked back, much like Sasuke's duck butt, as if Kakashi had run his fingers through the soaked locks.

Apparently, Kakashi noticed it also. "Looks sexy, doesn't it? At least, that's what all the normal women say. Though, I guess we already established you're not the normal one, right?" he smirked, the black material of his mask sitting bunched up at his neck, looking nothing more than the turtle neck of a black shirt.

Sakura's face reddened as she promptly crossed her arms, spinning on her heel in the wet puddle beneath her boots and beginning to walk at a hasty pace, eager now to arrive at the company and get away from the confusing man behind her. Unfortunately, he hurriedly caught up to her, holding the umbrella out and above her head to keep the rain from doing further damage to her drenched hair.

"Did anyone ever tell you, you look absolutely _adorable _when you're angry?"

Sakura rolled her emerald green eyes, appearing teal in the gray that surrounded her and everyone else in Tokyo, the heavy clouds pouring endlessly, a tidal wave of rain. The day seemed murkier and murkier with every passing second. "Yes, I think I got that from Naruto a few days ago."

She faintly heard Kakashi sigh. "We're almost there. Now remember—"

"Don't make him fall for me. I'll be sure to remember that, mother," Sakura muttered sarcastically, lifting her gloved hands to smooth down her hair. Ahead she gazed in wonderment as the humongous towering building grew ever nearer. She could already see a might bit of women crowding the giant parking lot that resided to the left of the company. And as she stepped closer to the overhang that covered the front door—and thankfully kept the rain at bay—Sakura stopped Kakashi with a hand to his chest.

"Alright Kakashi, off you go," she noticed, he had inconspicuously pulled his mask back up to the bridge of his nose as women made their way towards the huge doors, umbrellas in hand. She also noticed, the irritatingly jealous expression across his face as he nodded restrainedly and leaned forward to press his cloth covered lips to her forehead.

"I'll see you later then, love."

And with that he sauntered off, sending her one last fleeting look over his right shoulder and soon disappearing around a corner, back the way they had arrived. Determinedly, Sakura spun around her right hand balled into a tightly clenched fist. She was going to make it through this one without, hopefully, another suitor.

"Oh! Oh! Gaara-kun! I just can't wait to touch him!"

"He's so sexy my Gaara-kun is!"

"Ooh, Gaara-kun please pick me!"

Sakura sighed, shaking the water out of her pink hair as she meandered over to an unoccupied rock, was most likely there for scenery as it sat plaintively on the mulch surrounded by foliage. It had a flat surface and was only partially in the rain's line of fire as it pelted the back with icy drops.

Careful not to slide off, Sakura slowly lowered herself to the rock's smooth surface and soon found stability as she made herself comfortable. Silently—and boredly—her green eyes roved over the crowd that spilled out, almost into the street, the women who had managed to sift through the people, or who had arrived earlier, sat—along with her—underneath the overhang, dry and out of the searing winds.

Curiously, Sakura pondered how this 'Gaara' was going to choose his woman. She hoped it would be similar to Sasori's test, because if it were, that would be easily avoidable. Easy to pretend not to be part of. Then Gaara wouldn't pick her and life wouldn't be made ten times more difficult.

"Excuse me! Women? There's been a change of plans, due to the weather conditions the interviews will be held indoors! Please form an orderly line and wait to be escorted inside, twenty at a time!" an older male yelled out to the many women as they quieted and the back crowd strained to hear. Sakura slid off her rock, Naruto's jacket damp on the end from sitting on it and trailed her cautious way over to the steadily forming line. She wasn't going to be rash here, from Itachi's interview, she knew how bad and dangerously intimidating women could get if their dream man were involved.

As Sakura took her place in line, behind a rather audacious female, she realized she was the thirteenth person from the door and inwardly sighed, rather irritated with the fact of being in the first twenty. The man who had first talked to them adjusted his black tie with an agitated expression as the squalls of excitement coursed throughout the crowd.

"Alright first twenty, get going," and he counted them out, gently pushing their backs to move them into the warm, dry building, free of the water that fell from the gray clouds in the sky. Sakura felt herself nudged into the front room, she saw three receptionist's desks and was thoroughly reminded of Naruto's place, fortunately, Gaara wasn't a man who enjoyed frostbite, as the room was kept a decent temperature.

They were lead over to three rows of connected black upholstered chairs by the same brown haired man and to Sakura, it seemed as if he were the only one working there, other than the unhelpful receptionists who watched the twenty women with scornful looks of disgust. Sakura took her seat between two women who, in looks, completely outclassed her and turned her slightly divided attention to the man who had now positioned himself in front of them.

"Alright women, my name is Kankurou, and for those of you who don't already know, I'm Gaara's older brother. And in a few seconds, Gaara's older _sister _is gonna come down here. Gaara gave her special permission to knock out anyone who doesn't seem qualified for the role of his wife. It's up to you, if she likes you or not… Best not get on her bad side though." He tacked on the last sentence with a wink, before crossing his arms and turning to face the elevator.

Sakura pulled a beanie onto her head once again, when she caught sight of a stout looking camera man outside the window and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This 'Older Sister' didn't seem like a nice little girl scout. And from the looks on the faces of over half the women there, she was far from it. Sakura shivered involuntarily.

And then the elevator's notorious 'ding' sounded and the doors slid open.

"Alrighty bitches, let's get this started!"

Out walked, a stiletto wearing, short skirted, crass-looking woman, her hands on her hips as she grinned wickedly at the flinching women in front of her. As Sakura watched her, she noticed her strange hairstyle, four little pony tail like puffs at every corner of her head. Though the woman seemed rather brash, Sakura had to admit she had a gorgeous body.

"I'm Temari and I'm here to slim down the numbers for my baby brother. Any questions?" Temari introduced herself brazenly, as the weight of her statement bore down on them.

Sakura watched as Temari's green eyes searched theirs' stopping every second or so to examine a particular female. Finally, her eyes rested on Sakura's own and the pinkette tried her hardest to merely stare back, not to show any emotion of fear or admiration. And then Temari's eyes left hers.

"Alright, stand up," she ordered, pointing up for them to rise to their feet. Sakura stood, placing her hands in her jacket pockets. "I'll talk to each one of you individually in that room," as she announced this, she pointed to a door in the far corner, most likely leading to an office of some sort. "And then, after that if I think you're not good enough, you're out. Right then and there."

Suddenly the big busted woman who sat beside Sakura, raised her hand as if in grade-school. Temari smirked.

"Yes?"

"Do you, like, know Gaara-kun really well or something? How are you gonna know if he'll like us or not?" she asked not unkindly as if an actual question and not just to sneer at Temari. Said blonde's smirk grew wider and she cocked her head up like a low rank yakuza.

"Darling, I _raised _the man. I'm pretty sure I know him inside out. Anymore questions?" Sakura pursed her lips and shrunk away, trying her hardest not to make an impression, not to attract any unwanted attention. Most unlike the rest of the women, striving to make Temari look their way.

"Well, number one you're first, come along," Temari called over her shoulder, her very expensive black jacket shining in the fluorescents. Proudly, the first lady rose to the occasion, holding her head high, and followed courageously after the psycho blonde. Sakura heard the door shut with a slam, too afraid she'd draw attention if she looked. The pinkette gulped, praying to Kami-sama that the camera man would leave.

"Okay, guess what, girlies? I also have been given special authority to kick someone out, so... be on your toes," Kankurou said, with a too excited smirk as the women turned their attention to him. To the man who had—at first—seemed like the only kind person in the building and now appeared to be just as evil as his older sister. "Keep standing. I want you all to remove your jackets and any other unnecessary apparel."

Sakura grunted, glaring hatefully at the pristine ceiling. What had she ever done to deserve all this shit? Fully aware that women surrounding her were already removing their coats, the pinkette set to tugging off Naruto's jacket. That was the first and foremost, that was what would be the most easily recognizable item adorning her petite body.

Last, was the black beanie that hid her ostentatious hair from the calculating looks of the people that occupied the room with her. Slowly, so as not to draw attention, she lifted her hand to the top of her head and—with a gulp—plucked it off. Sakura's eyes squinted shut, already anticipating the screams of recognition that were sure to come.

Only… they didn't.

Was everyone just extremely inept or are TV's out of style now? The now obviously pinkette stole covert glances at the faces of the persons that surrounded her. No one seemed all that interested in the small, pink haired girl with big raccoon eyes as she glanced around, paranoid. Well, it appeared she didn't stick out half as much as she thought she did!

"Yeah, and stay out! Whore!"

Sakura jerked around to see the, what used to be, brave woman running out the door, tears pouring from her black eyes as she vanished outside into the storm that was now evolving into nothing short of a tropical ferocity. Sakura crossed her arms, reassuring herself that everything was going to be absolutely, perfectly fine—

"You! Pinkie! I want you next!"

Of _course_.

Inwardly, Sakura groaned, grabbing Naruto's jacket and tugging it back on, opting to leave her beanie in her pocket since, apparently, the camera man had left to chase after that wailing woman. Cautiously, as if Temari were a ferociously, hungry lioness who was bent on having her for lunch, Sakura stepped into the open doorway. As she did so, she conscious of Kankurou's calculating stare, unnerving as it was, she tried her utmost hardest to pretend she didn't feel it.

The office wasn't much of an office, it was more of a closet than anything. But it seemed, someone had manage to squeeze in a desk and two chairs, one on each side of the rickety brown table. A single light bulb hung from the dusty ceiling, barely managing to illuminate herself and the silhouette of Temari's womanly figure.

"Sit."

Sakura did as she was told. Don't get her wrong, she wasn't one to just silently meander while another party insulted her, treating her as if she were a dog or a wasted woman found in the street. But it obviously wasn't the most prudent, or even intelligent, thing to attempt to pick a fight with someone who had such power and money as Temari did.

"Name?" Temari inquired, taking a slow, deliberate step towards the desk, allowing the dim light to gleam onto her face, as she watched Sakura the way a cat would eye a mouse. Subconsciously, Sakura began picking at the ends of Naruto's sleeves and staring blankly at the desk, avoiding Temari's eyes.

"Haruno… Sakura," she muttered, before allowing herself to glance upwards and gauge Temari's expression. Said woman tilted her head to the side, before plopping herself violently into the chair behind her.

"Uh-huh. Sakura, right? Well, I'm Temari, and _I'll _decide if you're worthy of my little brother," she stated, matter-o-factly, a grim look marring her features for a split second before instantly reverting back to its mischievous 'I Know Something You Don't know' expression. Though her body seemed oddly tense, as if she were trying her hardest not to jump Sakura on the spot. Suddenly, Sakura felt herself overcome with a wave of frustration. All she had to do was make this lady hate her and she'd be home free.

"Yeah, you told us earlier. But, what I was wondering… Can you just kick me out? Like, right now? I'll even pretend to cry and everything!" Sakura offered, a smile set in place as she looked hopefully up at the taller woman.

Temari just stared at her.

And then suddenly she pounced.

"Oh! Aren't you just the most adorable thing, ever!"

Sakura stumbled out of the closet with Temari grinning at her and coddling her against her chest. She could feel everyone's stares as they leaped in surprise, even Kankurou was looking awfully baffled.

"Ne, Temari? What are you—"

"Shut-up, Kankurou! This one! This one's gonna be Gaara's wife! Look at her! Isn't she just the cutest little thing you've ever seen?" Temari thrust the frightened pinkette towards Kankurou, who caught her in the nick of time before she went tumbling to the linoleum floor. She was confused enough as it was, without being thrown around like raggedy Anne, all she did was say she didn't want to be Gaara's wife. Was that so strange?

"Hey, are you alright, er…"

"Sakura!" Temari inputted, grinning wildly as if she had just found the Lost City of Gold. Kankurou lifted Sakura back up into a standing position, his hands on her shoulders to stabilize her.

"Right, Sakura, are you okay? I know she can get a little out of hand," he finished his earlier query and Sakura adjusted her jacket as she righted herself, physically and mentally worn from the less than gentle Temari. She nodded minutely to the brown haired man in front of her, but before she could put her reply into words, her pocket vibrated and she tugged her cell phone out as Kankurou and Temari watched her with interest.

"Uh, hello?" she greeted cautiously, the encounter with Itachi involving Sasori and her cell phone shooting through her mind.

"Sakura? I heard that Itachi, that bastard, chose you for the contest! Is that true, because I swear, I'll kill him!" Sasuke's irate voice rang from the opposite end and Sakura froze. Quickly, she cast the two Sabaku's a concealed glance. Unfortunately, they caught her eye and Temari came waltzing over. Sakura felt the much expected, freshly baked wave of deja vu shoot through her systems as the blonde pulled the phone from her fingers.

"Who is this?" Temari questioned harshly, patting Sakura's pink hair as she grinned at her, excitedly. Sakura gawked in curiosity, lost as to what caused the blonde's sudden change in attitude towards her. Abruptly, Temari's face went from excitation to irritation and Sakura thought Sasuke must have replied with something Temari didn't want to hear.

"Uchiha Sasuke? What the hell are you calling Sakura for?" Temari inquired and just as the name slipped from between her lips, everyone in the room had a group gasp. No kidding. Sakura suddenly felt eyes upon eyes all boring into her from every direction imaginable and she instinctively flinched, feeling her body trying to run out the door and escape.

"Well, then I guess it sucks to be you Mr. Uchiha. Because Sakura's gonna be Gaara's wife! Bye!" Temari hollered a mirthful smirk on her face as she flipped the phone shut and handed it back to Sakura. "If he ever calls you again, just tell big sister Temari and she'll kick his ass! Now! It's Gaara time! Come on, Sakura-imouto!"

Imouto? Sakura gawked as she felt Temari wrap her hand around her wrist and haul her towards the elevator, Kankurou following behind, looking positively giddy. In the most manly sense of the word, of course.

"Now, I know that he can be a sort of… ass. But you're just gonna have to bear with me. He's extremely nice, when you dig deep," Temari informed, sounding quite the professional and extremely unlike the woman before. Sakura swore she was acquiring loads of whiplash and it was beginning to seriously hurt. Was Temari insane or not?

"Yeah, _way _deep down there. Man, you should have _seen _him when he was little." The elevator doors slid open and Kankurou continued his story as Sakura walked blindly in pursuit. "He tried to kill us… twice. You know, now that I think about it… Gaara really is an ass—"

"Shut-up, Kankurou."

Sakura jumped at the sudden voice and her head jerked up from her previous ground staring position to allow her eyes to fall upon a red haired youth who was glaring sardonically at Kankurou, as he rubbed his fiery crimson spikes in agitation.

Sakura's first thought of the young man was that he was not unlike a tanuki due to the black rings that lined the outer contours of his sea green eyes as if he never slept. And then suddenly those same eyes, were locked with hers; a mixture of confusion and caution. Wary of her as she stood between his older siblings, each holding her by the forearms.

"Hi, Gaara! Guess, what? I found the perfect woman for you, you wanna know why?" Temari inquired, with an air of mystery as she indicated to the dazed pinkette. Gaara frowned instantly as he glanced from Temari to Sakura and back again. Carefully, he crossed his arms, he appeared intimidating and the black suit was definitely playing a fairly large part in that.

"Why?" he asked simply, but his voice was harsh. He seemed more and more like he hated Sakura with every passing second and they haven't even verbalized anything, really.

"Because, Sakura _doesn't _want to be here. She actually _asked _me to kick her out! Can you believe that? Oh, and she's cute! Look at her, she's so small!" Temari announced, still managing to appear austere, as she said such gushing words, ruffling Sakura's pink hair again. "And she's friends with Sasuke Uchiha."

At first, Gaara seemed unfazed, not until Temari uttered the last sentence did he even look the slightest bit interested. He removed his scowl to be replaced with a skeptical expression and he eyed Sakura, disbelieving. "…How are you acquainted with the Uchiha?"

Sakura gulped at his piercing gaze, even if he hadn't intended to look volatile, he did and it was quite menacing she had to admit. "Um … Well, I kinda ran into him at a convenience store, while he was running away from home. I let him stay at my house for a little..." Sakura muttered, attempting to keep as close to the truth as possible. And abruptly, she felt disbelieving stares bearing down on her from all three of the Sabaku siblings.

"What a weird way to become friends with someone…" Kankurou muttered, breaking the silence as Sakura nodded lightly, her eyes never leaving the white tile beneath her boots. Suddenly, Temari gasped, causing Sakura to immediately lift her head and stare at her in fear and puzzlement.

"And she must be friends with Naruto too! Look, she's got his jacket on!" she exclaimed, picking at the upper sleeve of the coat that adorned Sakura's body with an astonished look on her face as she turned to Gaara. Sakura stood stationary, not quite sure if she liked being referred to as if she weren't there.

"Ah!" she choked out as unexpectedly, Gaara seized her arm and tugged her behind him, striding down the hall at such a pace, Sakura had to jog to keep up. Hurriedly, she glanced over her shoulder to see Temari smirking satisfactorily and Kankurou merely watching them disappear into an office of some sort.

Gaara released her arm as fast as he had grabbed it and looked to be examining her from front to back, head to toe, as he revolved around her so slowly, she could hardly tell he was hovering.

"You and Naruto… are friends as well then?" he finally asked, coming to a halt in front of her. a bewildered and confused expression on his face, his hand caressing his chin in obvious thought. Sakura, prior to answering, took a deliberate step back.

"Yeah, we met at his company. If you've ever been there, you'll know that it's glacially freezing. I forgot my jacket, so, he gave me his… surprisingly it's really warm…" Sakura trailed off, when she realized she was beginning to get off subject.

Then she felt Gaara's frown upon her again and tried strenuously to force a smile, to ward him off. In reaction, the red head cocked his head to the side, subconsciously or not, Sakura couldn't tell for it was ridiculously impossible to understand this man.

He kept staring at her with that same confounded look, he appeared as if he were trying to discover something about her. Trying to read her, to figure her out. As is he couldn't believe she was who she said she was.

After long moments passed, Sakura could feel the infuriation welling up in the low pit of her stomach and decided it more rational, for whatever reason, to act upon the urge to flick him. So, she lifted her hand to form an 'O' with her forefinger and thumb and instantly her finger was striking his nose.

"Ugh!" he grunted, more so in shock than pain and he fumbled back a few steps to gape at her in amazement. Minutes later, he finally managed to form proper and coherent words. "Y-You flicked me!" he accused, sounding to Sakura as if such a thing had never before happened to him and was therefore considered blasphemous.

Sakura chuckled out loud at the thought. But her laughing ceased when Gaara spoke again, becoming more and more incredulous. "And now you're _laughing_ at me?"

Sakura glanced up at his alarmed expression; his eyes wide with astonishment and his voice sounded so outrageously astounded and assaulted, the helpless pinkette couldn't help but subject to the peals of laughter that ached in her voice box begging, for all the world, that she set them free. Her face contorted with the giggle fit and her hands held her stomach as she snickered and howled and doubled over herself.

As she did so, Gaara gradually composed himself, still staring at her with that same confused and, now, amused look. Her pink hair flailed around her face as she laughed, tears in her closed eyes, and red dashed across her face. She seemed so infinitely happy, the mere thought of any such feeling being stolen away from her, infuriated Gaara beyond all means of his own comprehension. And in the far recesses; at the bleakest part of Gaara's mind; the most subconscious part seemed to completely agree with his older sister.

Sakura _was _adorable.

"Ah… Gaara-san? I-I'm sorry for laughing at you… I didn't mean to, you just seemed so surprised. I couldn't help myself," she muttered, attempting to stand on jelly-like legs and wiping the tears away with a poorly hidden grin.

Subconsciously, Gaara returned the grin with his own smirk as he lingeringly stepped towards her petite form. Sakura watched him, curiously, noting the change in the atmosphere around him and the smirk that now donned his face, his green eyes trained on nothing but her as she regarded him, inquisitively.

"Sakura, is it? Hm. Cherry blossom…" He trailed off lightly, an unreadable expression crossed his face as he lifted his hand to stroke her hair, suddenly overcome with absolute _need _to feel it. Gaara, puzzled at this strange impulse, complied to his bodies wishes, caressing the short, silky strands in his hand.

The blissful delirium that engulfed the rational part of his brain felt wonderful and his smirk spread to a smile, his eyes half-lidding in their drunken happiness. He considered her wide-eyed expression mindlessly, before allowing his fingers to trace away from her fluffy pink hair to the line of her jaw, savoring the porcelain smooth skin that ran under his fingertips.

"Er… Gaara-san—"

"Just Gaara," he absently corrected, still marveling in her pouting lips and attempting to keep the urge to touch them at bay. Sakura fidgeted underneath his intense gaze, picking at the end of Naruto's jacket sleeves once again.

"Gaara… W-what are you—"

Sakura leaped in surprise as the office door swung open, violently smashing against the wall.

"_Sabaku_." The growl came from none other than, and Sakura groaned at the irony, Itachi who looked absolutely enraged, gripping the door knob so tightly; his fingernails were digging red crescents in his palm.

Gaara pulled away from the pinkette, to send Itachi a inquiring glance. "Yes, Uchiha?" he was puzzled, but his voice was slightly colder than usual, from being interrupted so loudly, during something extremely important. Though, as to why he wasn't particularly certain.

"You have _my _Sakura alone with you in your office. What do you _think_?" Itachi hissed, releasing the door handle and almost breaking it off in the process. The possessive anger that swirled around in his chest was carefully, but barely, in check. Itachi wasn't going to lose control like his foolish little brother, but it was starting to get exceedingly difficult.

At the mention of Sakura belonging to _him_ Gaara almost blanched and he felt his impassive glare intensify twenty fold, the tempting drive to pull the pinkette to his side and claim her as his own was getting harder and harder to deny. "Sakura doesn't belong to you, Uchiha."

"Oh, really? I already chose her for my woman to that damned contest! She's _mine_, you ignorant ass." Itachi straightened his posture, his red eyes occasionally trailing over to the small girl who stood a few feet away from Gaara, looking positively exhausted. Gaara clenched his teeth.

That's it, forget denying it. Sakura was _his _now.

Sakura squeaked in shock, as Gaara wrapped his arm tightly around her waist to place the pinkette against his side, absently relishing in the feel of her body against his and the distinct scent that emanated off of her, intoxicatingly. He inhaled deeply, before lifting his lowered head, the red spikes of hair waving, revealing what they once covered: the red kanji above his left eye and he felt Sakura's curious stare as he smirked at Itachi.

"She's mine now."

Before Itachi could attempt to kill him, a hum of screaming and screeching could be heard from afar. "What's that…?" Sakura voiced as they all turned towards the open door inquisitively.

And then quite suddenly, the room was stampeded by a huge crowd of women. They came by the hundreds, all squealing in excitement bowling over every and anything in their need to get near Gaara and even Itachi who found himself surrounded by adoring women.

Immediately, Sakura was swept out of Gaara's arms and into the shoving crowd of hysterical females. Precisely, she navigated her way into the hallway and away from the throng, bumping into Temari in her need to escape from the building as soon as possible. The blonde seemed near insane, her dark green eyes wide and a nervous look on her normally calm or evil face.

"I'M SORRY! WE LEFT FOR ONLY A FEW SECONDS, AND THEN THEY MANAGED TO GET ALL THE WAY UP HERE! SORRY!" Temari had to scream over the vociferous crows of the legion behind her, Sakura merely nodded, before darting to the empty elevator. And as she hopped in, she couldn't help but reflect on that day's events in the sudden silence that engulfed her. It would seem Gaara had chosen her as well…

"_Now remember—"_

"_Don't make him fall for me. I'll be sure to remember that, mother."_

Well, she totally screwed the pooch on this one.

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Warning: Chapters may grow progressively longer.

The new poll is up and everything. But I think most of you knew that, right? If you didn't, feel free to vote now, because on the twenty third of January I'm going to write the chapter for either Deidara or Neji since they've been tied for first or switching on and off for a while now.

So, review for Deidara/Neji,

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	7. Neji Hyuuga

So, absolutely no updates for February. I blame State Exams and High School Registration. On the flip side, this thing is twenty-six pages of Thirty One goodness!

Disclaimer: Psh. Yeah. Right.

Neji had won the poll by ONE vote, so this is his chapter!

Enjoy!

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**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

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January 7th

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"_In other news the following men have already began conducting their interviews: Hatake, Kakashi. Uzumaki, Naruto. Uchiha, Sasuke. Akasuna, Sasori. Uchiha, Itachi. And Sabaku, Gaara. That's still twenty five men to go, good luck women! Now, Shizune-san didn't you say you had a speculation on the big Contest?"_

"_Yes, I do."_

Sakura lounged on her blue velvet couch, black remote in hand as her deft fingers found their way to the bowl of trail mix Ino must have left at some point of visit. Pulling portions of wheat chex and pretzels into her palm and carefully thrusting the bundle of food into her open mouth.

"_Well, I have one thing in particular I wish to address before we get along with the usual segment."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I foresee that all the men participating in the contest will end up all falling for the same woman."_

"_Wow, that's quite a-a leap . . . And how do you come to that conclusion?"_

Flicking her wrist, Sakura pressed the power button and the TV screen went black, filling her small apartment room with abrupt silence. This, Shizune woman was supposedly a doctor. A psychologist, actually, and apparently she was doing end of the hour segments on what she predicts will happen in the contest, for entertainment purposes, Sakura presumed.

"I think she was a little off, after all only six out of thirty one men have chosen the same girl . . . That's roughly nineteen percent," Sakura murmured darkly to herself, stretching out languidly on the couch, much like a cat, and yawning with boredom. Supposedly, Ino was heading over to tell her where her next interview would be held, but so far, the blond had yet to show herself, nor anyone else, for that matter. Sakura sighed irately, lifting her leg in the air, from her position where she lay on her stomach, and extending it backwards. Unfortunately, the bowl of trail mix was still perching precariously on the arm of the couch that her leg had just knocked past, inadvertently thrusting the bowl back and off of the velvet arm.

"Ah!" Sakura, after feeling the bowl connect with her foot, lurched up in a feeble attempt to catch it, already quite sure that it was practically impossible to do so. Though, she was met with a very astonishing sight when she collapsed forward to recapture the bowl. There, standing, poised in front of her, bowl of trail mix in hand, was Naruto Uzumaki, a huge grin on his ever ecstatic face. Sakura's green eyes dilated and she instinctively vaulted backwards with a shocked eep.

"H-how- Naruto! What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!" Sakura shrieked, pointing accusingly at the blond, whiskered man. Naruto tilted his head back and purred lightly, setting the bowl down in its previous place, Sakura moved her foot as he did so.

"Ah, how I've missed hearing you say my name, Sakura-chan," He sighed blissfully, returning his gaze to his beloved Sakura. Blue met with green, and at Sakura's furious and confused face he pouted. "I let myself in. . . You know, you should really start locking your door."

Sakura caught her breath, inhaling deeply and adjusting her sitting. "Sure. Ever heard of breaking and entering? It's _illegal_," The pinkette muttered, hand against her heart as she glared noncommittally at Naruto. Said man returned her scowl with a pleased grin, before pouncing over the arm and onto the navy couch.

"Yeah, but Sakura-chan, I'm _rich_. And rich people can do _anything_, we are _above_ the law," Naruto announced haughtily, placing his arm around her shoulders with a placating, teeth showing grin. "It's okay though, when you marry me you can do anything you want too!" And he leaned over to nuzzle his nose against her soft cheek reassuringly. Sakura, ignoring the light shade of crimson that roved across the bridge of her nose, tried at nonchalance and averted her eyes as the blond continued to coddle her.

"Mmm. Sakura-chan, you smell good-" But before Naruto could complete his ecstatic compliment, Sakura's door burst open and slammed violently against the wall behind it, most likely denting it, much to Sakura's dismay. Naruto jerked sideways to glower irritatedly at the intruder for interrupting his Sakura time.

"Stop growling at me. I didn't come here for you- Wait. Why the hell are you in here anyway?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, dropping his (most likely expensive) jacket onto the gray, matted carpet with a thud. Glancing around, calculatingly, committing every dank detail to memory, seeing as how he was slightly distracted the first time he was there. But, he supposed, he shouldn't complain, he was one of Sakura's few suitors who had actually been in her apartment. No matter how small it was in comparison to his own home. Mentally, Sasuke noted when he and Sakura got married to move into the huge mansion in Karuizawa.

"Sasuke-teme! _I'm_ hanging out with _my _Sakura-chan! What are _you_ doing here?" Naruto countered, tugging Sakura closer to his chest, as he narrowed icy blue eyes in the young Uchiha's direction. Sasuke scowled, before tromping over to place himself on the opposite side of Sakura, lifting his own possessive arm to wrap around his pink-haired future wife, with a surreptitious purr, as her seductive scent engulfed him instantly.

"Ugh, Sasuke-teme! Quit grabbing on my Sakura!" Naruto demanded, moving a second arm to pull his favorite woman closer to him and farther from that black-haired womanizing fiend. Sakura gulped, when she felt Sasuke jerk forward against her suddenly, as if he had heard Naruto's insulting thoughts about him.

"Er, guys?" Sakura muttered anxiously, as the two glared fervently at each other over her head, their grips on her small body growing more fierce and possessive. Carefully, tentatively at first, she placed her palms against each man's shirted chest, lightly shoving them back. Instantaneously, they froze, their eyes left each other's and lowered to stare curiously at her pink head, as they attempted to subdue the pleasure radiating off of them at her soft hands pressed to their chests.

"Calm yourselves. I don't wanna deal with more fighting men if I can help it," She said lightly, lifting away her hands to pat their hair softly. Sasuke shrugged minutely, before begrudgingly leaning back and allowing his vice-like grip to slacken slightly, so that Sakura could breath again, Naruto did the same, still watching Sasuke warily.

Suddenly, the blond jumped, before abruptly releasing her with one arm and reaching behind his back. "Uh, Sakura, I think this is yours," He said, pulling her cellphone out and handing it to her. "As much I enjoy my butt getting massaged. . ." He trailed off, referring to the vibrations that wracked her phone as he plopped it into her open palm.

"Thank you," Sakura thanked lightly, flipping open the gray phone and placing it against her ear, minding of Sasuke's head, his black bangs tickling her knuckles. "Hello?"

"Forehead!" Ino's rambunctious voice greeted jovially, sounding slightly breathless.

"Wow, you haven't called me that since high school," Sakura commented blandly, readying herself for the obvious reason of her best friend's call. Another interview, of course.

"Yeah, well. . . I'm reminiscing. Anyway, you have an interview to attend. Unfortunately, I 'm not gonna be in town to ensure that you actually show up, so I'd like to speak with Naruto."

Sakura frowned. "How do you know Naruto's here?"

"I'm rich. And rich people know things. I have people, now put Naruto on," Ino demanded. Sakura rolled her eyes, before reluctantly pulling the phone away from her head and handing it over to the whiskered man beside her.

"Here, phone for you," She mumbled, when Naruto tilted his head to the side curiously. Scooting closer to her on the blue couch, he took the cell in his hand and put it against his ear, resting his chin on Sakura's shoulder.

"Hi, Naruto!"

"What do you want?" He said rather rudely, mostly because he recognized Ino on the phone, and he wasn't particularly fond of the spoiled brat. Sasuke straightened from his slumped position, inquisitive as to who was on the phone, and irate at Naruto for increasing his proximity to the pink haired beauty.

"I _want_ you to accompany my little Sakura to her next interview, and if you don't. . . Well, then, I can assure you the next time me and Sakura have a talk she'll know more about you than you would prefer, lover boy," Ino hissed malevolently, and Naruto gulped inwardly praying Sakura hadn't overheard, though he wasn't entirely sure what horrible things Ino could tell his favorite pinkette, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Fine," He muttered reluctantly, ignoring Sakura and Sasuke's inquiring stares. "Who is it? And where?" He cringed at Ino's squeal of excitement that followed his question, even Sasuke and Sakura flinched.

"Hyuuga Neji. At the docks in Tokyo Bay. There'll be a huge ship with Hyuuga on the side of it, that's where the interviews will be held," She informed, her voice stern. Naruto suppressed a growl at the thought of _Neji_ interviewing his Sakura.

"Yeah, yeah. But what about Sasuke? He's here too," Naruto enlightened on the whereabouts of the troublesome Uchiha. Ino huffed irritatedly, for things weren't going according to plan.

"Ugh, why the hell's he there? Doesn't he have other women to interview or something?" She scrounged for an excuse to rid them of Sasuke. She couldn't have both of them take her to the interview, it would be way to conspicuous, Sasuke wasn't the most subtle looking man, a fangirl could recognize him in a second. Naruto on the other hand, had been nationally broadcasted as now being one of Sakura's close friends after their interview, so even if some Neji fan did recognize him, it wouldn't matter so much.

"Huh. You know. . . I don't really know," Naruto answered, lifting his head from it's previous resting spot, Sakura's shoulder, to Sasuke's incurious face as he watched Sakura watch Naruto. "Hey Sasuke-teme, Ino wants to know why you're here." Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, with a shrug.

"I just came to apologize to Sakura," He commented leniently, his grip on Sakura never slackening. Sakura quirked a thin pink eyebrow at the Uchiha's strange reply, reverting her gaze to his pale, handsome face. Naruto leaned away from Sakura momentarily, to tell Ino he was on it, and that he would try to exclude the Uchiha from the excursion.

"Apologize for what?" Sakura queried, her leaf green eyes trained on his obsidian black ones, though they weren't watching her, his eyes lazily followed a wisp of pink hair as it fluttered around the top of her head like a thin petal being breezed about by a light, practically nonexistent, zephyr.

"For not coming to get you, when I heard that bi- _Ahem_, Gaara's sister talking to me. . . Apparently, Itachi had my cell phone tapped, after he heard that woman, he was gone before I could even register what the hell was going on. And since he left, my superiors wouldn't let me leave the Uchiha Corps. building unaccompanied by an Uchiha official so I was forced to stay there," Sasuke spoke as if he were talking to royalty, and somewhere in the midst of his apology he had grasped Sakura's hand in his, pressing it lightly to his lips. And if Sakura were any other girl, she would have swooned where she sat, but she wasn't just any other girl, precisely the reason why the men adored her so much, so Sakura merely brushed his gesture off as a something he most likely did to all women when he was sorry.

"Sure, I don't really mind. Besides, Itachi _did_ save me from having to deal with Gaara alone, when he said he chose me, and he also acted as a pretty good distraction for the rabid fangirls that came running in later," Sakura commented, with a smile at the memory of Itachi's face when all those screaming women surrounded him. Unfortunately, Sasuke took the smile the wrong way, as if she were smiling at the mention of the older Uchiha's name, and his inky black eyes hardened with the notion.

"Hn, I don't think he's all that great. . . As a matter of fact, I hate Itachi, sadistic bastard," Sasuke muttered, averting his eyes to glare abhorrently at a light gray stain on the carpet, imagining Itachi's face on it. Sakura nodded in menial agreement, as Naruto closed her phone and stuffed it into her jean pocket for her.

"You got that right, I swear he's a complete and total sadist. The guy thought it was a turn on for his younger brother to be interested in the same woman he was, now that's just messed up. How the hell do you deal with that? I mean, right after I told him I knew you, the bastard _kiss_-" Sakura froze, her hand flying to her mouth, realizing her mistake. The last time she told somebody, namely Kakashi, she had been kissed by Itachi, the ending predicament wasn't the best outcome. Such as, being practically frenched by a millionaire. . .

"Huh? He what?" Naruto, ever the innocent, didn't quite want to believe what he thought he heard. He gave her a curious look, peering over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of her face, seeing as how she was talking to Sasuke.

"Er, nothing!" Sakura answered, a little _too_ hastily, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes watching her closely, she glanced away, avoiding his calculating glare. His eyes darkened.

"He _kissed_ you?"

The words seemed to resonate of the walls, and were met with an awkward silence. Sakura could practically feel the underlying inner rage that pulsated behind his passive eyes, as he scrutinized her, watching her every move. Behind her, Naruto was tightening his grip around her chest as he stared over her shoulder, feral animosity radiating off of him in waves. Sakura took a deep breath, deeming it more prudent not to lie to the two. She just hoped they didn't _both _try to kiss her.

"Um. . . Yeah." Plain and simple. Sakura fiddled with Naruto's jacket sleeve, and no, she _wasn't _wearing a jacket. Naruto was. And his arms were in front of her. For a second, Naruto was distracted by the tugging at his sleeve end, and he felt his heart warm lovingly for his delightful pinkette, who managed to entice him without even trying, or wanting to, for that matter.

Sasuke lifted his hand to his head, as he leaned against it in an indolent way, but the quickened rise and fall of his chest, suggested labored breaths and his eyes betrayed his absolute fury at the thought of his older brother touching his Sakura's lips before him, or at all for that reason.

"Well then, my _Sakura_, I decree that you're going to have to do something for me. . . and I guess Naruto, seeing as how there's no way he's going to just sit by and watch," Sasuke added, with a sideways glance at Naruto's suspicious scowl. Sakura gulped, not particularly pleased with the direction this conversation was going, as she began nibbling on the end of Naruto's sleeve in fear.

"I believe you owe me and Naruto kiss as well," Abruptly Sasuke leaned forward, his hand cupping her chin as he inclined her face to his. "Hm, Sakura?" He whispered huskily, his eyes glinting, as he felt her heightened breaths wash over his face. Naruto was stunned into silence. Sakura's face reddened before she gathered her fleeting senses and narrowed emerald eyes at the Uchiha.

"I don't think so, this Sakura Haruno doesn't _willingly_ snog men willy-nilly," She hissed, lifting her hands to his wrist and pulling his hand away from her chin. His black eyes widened, and he froze, astounded, gaping like a fish at his bride elect. Faintly, Sakura felt Naruto purr against her shoulder pleasurably, at the fact that she had just thoroughly rejected the young Uchiha. Even if, technically, she rejected him too.

"Anyway, Naruto, don't we have an interview to get too?" Sakura inquired, worming her way out of the blond's tight grip and heading around the couch towards the staircase to get properly dressed.

"Oh, right! Yeah, go ahead and get dressed Sakura-chan," Naruto agreed, shoving aside his disappointment at her escaping his possessive hold. Sasuke was still frozen stiff. Sakura hopped up the steps two at a time, towards her upstairs, with thoughts swirling around in her mind like a tornado.

She was just as surprised as Sasuke that she had been able to reject the man's seductive actions so effortlessly, she hadn't been able to do that with the others when they pulled her close to them. Sakura shook her head furiously. It must be from having to deal with all these men. She was actually developing rejection skills, and she wasn't exactly sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Sliding open her drawers, Sakura extracted a thick, black, zip up sweater and pulled it over her dark red long sleeved shirt with a sigh. She was off to another interview. Maybe if God was being nice today things would go well. And by well, she meant the man will absolutely hate her and demand she leave at once. _That_ would, indeed, be a perfect interview. Throwing Naruto's ever warm jacket around her shoulders Sakura cantered down the stairs, pausing by the door to glance over at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Um, are you both going to make sure I go, or just Naruto?" Sakura questioned, already carefully pulling the door open. Naruto made a rather distasteful face, before rising to his feet. Sasuke numbly following suit, still very much in shock.

"Well, _originally _Ino didn't want Sasuke to come, because he was a bit too noticeable, being Sasuke and all. But since she was pretty sure, knowing Sasuke, that he wasn't going to leave you alone with me, she said he could come if he wore a hat or something," He muttered unwillingly, casting unloving looks in the Uchiha's direction. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke who still stood tensely, before sighing irately at his distant behavior and tromping over to stand directly in front of him. Unyieldingly she lifted her hand and proceeded to slap him across the face, marring his cheek with a particularly red splotch.

Sasuke absently lifted a gloved hand to his face, touching it gently. ". . .You slapped me," He accused, the color coming back to his eyes, replacing the dull haze that had covered them. Sakura smiled sweetly, pulling a black beanie over her head and slipping a navy blue baseball cap, from the floor, onto his.

"Yes I did, captain obvious. Now, keep the hat on if you want to take me to my next interview," She said simply, still smiling her innocently ignorant smile, her eyes crinkled. Naruto, impatient and irritated with how much attention Sakura was paying Sasuke, reached over and tugged at her wrist, pulling her towards the slightly ajar door.

"C'mon, we have to go, or we'll be late. . . Not that I would mind, but apparently Ino does. A little _too _much," Naruto muttered the last part, accompanied with a small growl as he immersed himself in the winterly frost of the outdoors, Sakura in tow with Sasuke following not far behind, being sure to seize his jacket on the way out and close the door behind him.

Sakura shivered as she always did in the cold weather, minding of the slippery coat of ice that paved the street, creating a sheet of a crystal clear death trap. Her furry boots, the same pair she donned every day, obviously weren't created for ice skating, and unfortunately, Sakura's right boot lost footing on the slick ice, sending her falling towards the frigid ground at a fast rate. Immediately, her arms flung out to grasp hold of Naruto, who quickly reacted pulling her into his arms to keep her up, as she clung to him fearfully.

"Jeez, Sakura-chan, remind me to get you some shoes with better traction," Naruto chuckled, petting her head as if he were petting a cute little lost puppy, as she peered up at him from where her face had been buried in his shirt.

"Th-thanks, Naruto," Sakura stuttered, immediately tugging herself from his embrace and almost tripping backwards with the momentum into Sasuke who caught her shoulders with a slight roll of his eyes, before steadying her accompanied by a light peck on her warm cheek. Sakura tried her hardest to gather her composure and wipe away the embarrassed blush that had fought its way across her face.

"Here, Sakura-chan! This is my car," Naruto directed, pointing out a flamboyantly orange contraption, his other hand on the small of her back as he guided her towards it. Sakura gaped openly at the vehicle as it sat in front of her, in all its divine glory.

"N-Naruto? Are you freaking serious?! This car- It's brilliant! I-I, is this what I think it is?!" She burst, frantically bouncing from one part of the car to another, her green eyes alight with a childish fire, neither Sasuke nor Naruto had ever expected to see. Their faces melted with pleasure and delight as they watched her lift the vibrant hood and pick and prod at the V8 engine in unquestionable admiration and wonderment.

"If you're thinking it's a SSC Ultimate Aero, than yeah," Naruto answered, following her hand with his eyes as it gently caressed every individual fragment of engineering under the hood. "It's got a-"

"Twin-turbo V8 engine with 1183 horsepower?"

Naruto gawked at his pink haired love interest, who seemed to know more about his vehicle than he had expected. She didn't pay him any mind as she made to close the hood and circle the car to the back to get down on her knees in the thin layer of snow, examining the underneath of the car, in curious excitement.

Sasuke, hands in jacket pockets, puffing out little bursts of hot breath into the winter air, sighed lovingly to himself. She knew about cars. Sakura knew about cars. Could she be _anymore_ perfect?

"Wow. Just wow, Naruto. How in the hell did you get one of these, huh?" Sakura said from underneath the car, seemingly unfazed by the cool that seeped through Naruto's coat. Sakura beamed as she fiddled around with her deft fingers, enjoying every moment she could spend with the beautiful machine. The American-made SSC Ultimate Aero was _the_ fastest production car in the _world_. It went from 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds, in could drive up to 257 MPH, and they're were only 25 on the market. This car was a _God_. Sakura felt famous just being _near_ it.

"Sakura-chan. . .? You- You like cars?" Naruto asked incredulously, slack-jawed as the petite pinkette slid out from beneath his car and hopped to her feet, running her hand along the seven foot wide back in reverence. Her grass colored eyes lifted to face Naruto, and she cracked a grin, her face filled with excited adoration for the car and for Naruto.

"Yea, one of my few hobbies I guess, other than writing for college. Used to be, in my spare time, I'd mess around with a few cars that belonged to the customers at my mom's bar," Sakura answered, with no indication of elaborating on the subject, so Naruto didn't ask _what_ kind of maintenance she performed. Sakura smirked before stepping around the car to stand beside the passenger door. "Shall we?"

Naruto nodded hastily, before turning to glance over his shoulder at Sasuke. "Sorry Sasuke, there's only two seats! You can take her home. If you beat me there, that is." Naruto smirked at Sasuke, reaching into his jacket pocket and pressing a button on the transmitter resting there, causing a 'beep' as the two car doors slid upwards into the air.

Sasuke scowled darkly at Naruto's back, knowing too well that the idiotic blond had planned that from the start, before spinning on his heel, his long black trench coat twirling rapidly as he made his way across the parking lot towards his own car, a McLaren F1, a car with nowhere near as much hype as the SSC Ultimate Aero. Of course, it was still fast, and on the Official List Of The Fastest Cars in the World, as number five. Stupid Naruto, and his showing off. As soon as he gets out of his car, Sasuke's going to run him over. He's rich, he could definitely get away with it.

Sakura wiggled her bottom in the comfortable car seat, the black straps buckled over her shoulders and snapped together against her stomach. Naruto, strapped in beside her, pulled the car out the lane and onto the street, speeding towards the highway. Sakura glanced from one meter to the next in awe, and she lifted her hands to run them over each and every one of them, trying her hardest to avoid blocking Naruto's view of the road. Naruto merely chuckled, amused at her actions and by how cute she looked staring, wide-eyed at everything he touched. He sat back, leniently driving as he had done many times before, he noticed how astonished Sakura was at how blasé he was acting about sitting in the driver's seat of the fastest street legal car in the entire world.

And so they rode from Sakura's apartment building, Chiyo's Cheap Apartments, or just _Chiyo's_, to Tokyo Bay, where her next interview with Neji Hyuuga would occur. Sasuke following not far behind. It was safe to say, many people gawked at the two extremely expensive cars zipping by on the highway.

"Well, here we are. . ." Naruto muttered reluctantly, pulling the car up to a boat rental store parking lot, as he indicated to the huge boat on the dock, it floated haughtily in the languid sea, outclassing all those nearby as it stood white and shining against the blue sky. Sakura had to lean forward and peer out from the very edge of the windshield to see the top of it.

"Huh, looks kinda like a cruise ship," She stated blandly, finally comfortable in her surroundings i.e. the extremely fast and expensive car.

"Aw! Sasuke followed me, dammit. I was trying to lose him, how fast does that thing go anyway?" Naruto cursed, peering in his rear view mirror and catching a flash of black as the Uchiha drove by, intentionally informing Naruto of his presence, the blond could practically _feel _his triumphant smirk at being able to tail the fastest car in the world.

"It's a McLaren F1, it goes 240 miles per hour . . . Woah, if he managed to keep up with this baby, then he really knows how to work a car," Sakura commented staring at the black car and its driver, who smirked at her with a light flick of his wrist, which could only be characterized as a wave. She waved back lightly, before turning back to Naruto.

"So now what? Do I just go up there and walk in?" Sakura inquired, cocking her head to side at her blond companion, who, in turn, tilted his head as well, as if considering something in his own mind.

It was a risk-benefit situation. To Naruto, the benefits totally out weighed the risks. And 'throwing caution to the wind' Naruto leaned forward and pressed his lips to Sakura's, his hand grasping her chin and inclining her face to meet his. Sakura's eyes grew wider than they had when she first laid eyes on the Ultimate Aero, and her face grew flushed, especially when she felt Naruto's tongue drag along her bottom lip sensually, a low purr vibrating his throat. Naruto basked in her sweet cherry flavor that tingled his taste buds and numbed his senses, but before he could continue to ravage her mouth and enjoy more of that delectable taste, she pulled away. Her face was brightly colored, and her eyes were huge in astonishment.

Quickly, through his momentary delirium, Naruto tried to force himself to speak and dissipate some of the tension that filled the car. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I just wanted to try my favorite cherry blossom's lips for myself." He grinned foxily, leaning back. In his peripherals he noticed an extremely enraged Uchiha, twitching madly in his car and offered him a wink.

"Er, I'm gonna. . . gonna go now, s-see ya!" Sakura stuttered rapidly in her attempt to leave as soon as possible. Naruto, sensing how awkward she was feeling and how late she was going to be if he didn't let her take her leave, pressed the button that opened the passenger door and watched longingly as she clambered out, stumbling over her boots in the snow. Sasuke followed her too, yearning for her to spin around and join him, so that he could claim her lips for himself and take her far away from everyone else who wanted her. But he and every other suitor knew they couldn't interfere with Sakura's interviews, or Ino wouldn't allow their pinkette to participate in the contest and become their wife. Which would be dreadful, a life without Sakura, _please_. Nobody'd survive.

After a few minutes of sloshing through the partially melted snow, Sakura slowed to a brisk walk, the need to distance herself from the two millionaire's with the delicious cars, pulsating strongly in her head. Her stomach was all in knots, and she didn't want to think about how much she'd been kissed in the past week. Well, much more than her high school years, and she had a deep foreboding feeling this wasn't the last of it either.

As a large line of females came into view, Sakura paused. The vast amount of women that could all converge in one area had yet to leave Sakura unsurprised as she saw them all, talking and yelling and gushing and screaming at each other. There was a long white ramp with white handlebars lining either side to keep the women from shoving each other into the cold ocean below, it lead straight to the colossally enormous boat, with _Hyuuga_ scrawled in black paint across the side in huge letters.

After Sakura was done observing the site, she scampered over, careful to avoid the puddles, seeing as how it was warmer closer to the ocean. She unzipped Naruto's jacket, showing her black sweater underneath as she made her way to the end of the elongated line of women, which took a great deal more time than she had first assumed. Sakura was officially the last person in line, as there were no other humans behind her, caused most likely by her tardiness, which she could thoroughly blame on Naruto and Sasuke. Speaking of who, she could still see their cars. Peering across the length of yard she had just trekked through, she could see Naruto's car, as ostentatious as ever, and beside it, Sasuke's, appearing subtle and low profile compared to his blond friend's.

Sakura crossed her arms, even though it was warmer, it was still _cold_. And she could still see her warm puffs of air particles as they slipped from her lips, she shivered. To keep her mind preoccupied, Sakura reminisced in the 'good ol days' from when she practically became a mechanic.

When they, meaning Tsunade and her, had moved to Tokyo and Tsunade bought the tavern, Sakura spent most of her time there, because she had plenty free time, college had yet to begin. At that time, she already knew that she was interested in cars. Not interested enough to pursue a career in the field, but enough to play around with it as a hobby on the side.

So, eventually, a regular at the bar came, and spoke to her, for she _had _been working at the bar then, about his car that was acting up, mostly because people like to whine to bar tenders about their dilemmas, and Sakura didn't mind much. After he finished, Sakura was intrigued, and interested in examining his car to see what would be causing such a fuss from it. He was more than happy to oblige her request, seeing as how it would be free, not that he really expected her to know much about the problem, he was planning on taking it to a mechanic soon, anyway. And, when she did a thorough inspection, she was shocked to realize that she actually understood what was wrong with the vehicle, but even better, she knew how to fix it. So, she did. And she enjoyed it, immensely. From then until she stopped working at the bar for college, she was doing free mechanical work on the cars that the tavern's customers complained about.

"Hey! No cutting! I don't care who you are! I don't care if you're the queen of the England, get to the back of line and wait like the rest of us!"

Sakura lifted her head abruptly at the wail from far ahead of her, much farther actually, practically the front of the line, right by the ramp. A woman was bristling irritatedly at a teenage girl who had her arms crossed tersely, her long dark brown, almost black, hair falling in front of her face, blocking it from view. "Fine! Just you wait until my father hears about this! He'll have you sued faster than you can say 'I'm an obnoxious, arrogant bitch!'" The younger one retaliated, with just as much angry ferocity. Sakura glanced away, questioning the intelligence of this, Neji person, if he wasn't even smart enough to know where to place police then Sakura was out of here.

"Why the hell would I even want to say that?!" The woman screeched, looking quite offended as the girl smirked maliciously, Sakura could clearly see she must have had some witty comeback in mind.

"Because it's true. You _are_ an obnoxious, arrogant bitch."

Ooh. _Burn_.

Sakura snickered at the random thought, and watched with bitter amusement as the two continued to throw insults back and forth. A few women, were doing as Sakura was and simply enjoying the quarrel, others were taking sides in support, most in favor of the older woman, and still others were whipping out their cell phones, at the ready to dial 9-1-1 on a moment's notice if the fight got out of hand.

"Do you know who I _am_?" The taller one shouted furiously, stamping her boot viciously, though Sakura found it more comical than threatening. "I am Tenten Kunai a famous model! You have no right to insult me, you little pest!" The teenager was unsatisfied.

"Psh. That's pathetic. There's no way you're a famous model, if you were I would have at least _heard_ about you, don't you think?" She said with an air of well played nonchalance, flipping her flowing hair over her shoulder. The supposed model, Tenten, shrieked in exasperation and annoyance at the girl in front of her.

"Shut-up! Just shut-up, you brat!" Tenten hissed, her rage pouring out of her and swallowing her whole as she glared wrathfully at the black haired teen. Sakura saw what the girl planned to do next, before it happened from the dastardly look on her pale face. Just a tweak, just a little push, one last insult, and the older woman would be pushed over the edge. The girl smirked.

"I don't have to listen to an _old bat_ like yourself, I mean, why are you even here? Neji'd never go for an elderly woman like you."

Tenten's face twisted with ire and her muscles grew taut as she readied to pounce on the expecting teenager, with the intent to kill. Sakura scoured the long line of women, waiting for one of them to charge over and save the day, like a hero. But nobody moved, they just froze, simply ignorantly standing there and watching, anxiously. The pinkette sighed, she had to help didn't she?

And with a might bit of regret in her heart, Sakura jumped out and made a mad dash towards the front of the line, trying her absolute hardest not to lose her footing in the light layer of snow that covered the pavement, and to avoid the snowmelt that sat like mini slippery death traps in her running way.

As she neared them, she skidded to a stop. Or at least _attempted_ to skid to a stop, unfortunately for her, her boots had absolutely no traction at all when it came to snow, as Naruto had said, and she was sent flying face first into a minute pile of snow, created by the aggravated movements of Tenten's feet. Even though it hadn't gone quite as Sakura had originally planned, Tenten and her opponent stopped in their angry ministrations to stare down questioningly at the unusual sight beneath them. Suddenly, another woman burst from the line and rushed over to help the fallen pinkette up, tugging her to her unsteady feet. Quickly, Sakura thanked the woman who gushed over her as if she were a child who had scraped her knee or something and returned her attention to the two in front of her.

"Sorry for. . . interrupting your _engaging_ conversation, but I think there's a place for that kind of stuff, and here at an interview is not one of those places," Sakura stated commandingly, brushing the snow from her sweater and jacket. For a second or two, both females seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes instead of their mouths, before nodding to each other, as if in agreement, and turning to Sakura and the unnamed woman who had helped her. In unison, they smirked satisfactorily, and Sakura felt a tingle of creepy wrack her spine as she cringed.

"Neji-nii-sama! We're done!" The teenaged girl called loudly, peering over her shoulder towards the boat. Sakura followed her gaze, dazed and curious as to what the hell was going on, as were the other five hundred women. Suddenly, the entire line screeched in excited pleasure as if they had just met a God, and for all intensive purposes, he practically was. To them anyway. Neji stood there, hands on the balcony, as he glanced around the huge legion of females all screaming his name at the top of their lungs. Well, all except for Sakura and the other three women with her, they merely watched his silhouetted figure, the sun shining dimly behind him.

"Ladies," He addressed, and Sakura presumed he had a microphone clipped to his shirt collar because his voice resonated around them and could clearly be heard over the wails of the women below him. "It's time to begin the interview, Tenten, Hanabi?" And he gestured down to the two females who had been previously fighting. Sakura returned her perturbed gaze back to the alleged enemies, thoroughly bewildered and slightly frustrated because she could vaguely see where this was going.

"Hi, I'm Hyuuga Hanabi, Neji-nii-sama's younger cousin."

"And I'm Tenten, Neji's friend, and that entire little farce you guys just saw, was an act!" The brunette exclaimed with mischievous, vivid brown eyes. Sakura quirked a thin eyebrow, staring in oblivious confusion as her mind carefully pieced everything together and she was suddenly struck by a serious case of deja vu, Sasori's interview flashing briefly through her head. She got duped. _Again_.

"Of course you guys are. . ." The pinkette muttered, more to herself than the two obnoxiously energetic girls in front of her. Unfortunately, the two were blessed with extremely acute hearing and they frowned in response to her unenthusiastically sarcastic words. Hanabi blew a strand of hair out of her line of sight and crossed her arms diligently.

"Well, Miss sour puss that was the first test, so everyone that didn't react at all or cheered for the fight, will be immediately extricated from the premises," She said so, as if she was bestowing upon Sakura a substantial reward and to some of the women, Sakura was sure it was. But to her, it was simply words that made her head spin and her stomach flop with adamant annoyance.

"Fantastic. . ." She murmured at an even lower than the first one, but the young Hyuuga still caught it in the winter winds, and she cast Sakura a suspicious look. Tenten, on the other hand, clapped her hands loudly and spun on her heel to face the long line of women who were still gaping and cheering and gushing at Neji, who still stood gazing blankly down at the vast expanse of land beneath him, his clear white eyes never resting for long on any one in particular.

"Girls! Guess what? More than half of you are about to be sent back home!" As Tenten announced this with a jubilant air, everyone's eyes widened in horror (Tenten had a microphone too, apparently) and tall, long haired men appeared standing perfectly still along the railing around Neji. Sakura glanced up at them, noting how their white eyes matched the Hyuuga's, and they glared down superiorly at the women below.

"Alright, the women who's names are called will stay here, and board the ship. Everyone else, will leave, and if they refuse, they will be removed, _forcefully_," A towering man directly beside Neji said with a low, commanding voice, a clipboard visible in his hands.

"Miruki Nasagi."

Sakura cocked her head over her shoulder to acquire a clearer view of the girl whose name was just spoken, and realized it was the girl who'd ran over and helped her on her feet when she embarrassingly fell into a cold and icy face plant. Appallingly, she looked not a day over thirteen, she was was short, a head shorter than the petite pinkette herself. She had charcoal colored hair, pulled up into two pigtails on either side of her head, causing her to appear even younger, her eyes were big and aqua blue, a shade lighter than Naruto's. Her school uniform like apparel only added on to her tween-like appearance, with a short plaid-red skirt and sweater-vest over blouse, accompanied with fluffy white sock tops, evident underneath big brown snow boots. She was like, the epitome of small and cute. Though, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sasori, Itachi and Gaara would beg to differ with this notion.

"I knew it," Her _voice_ was even cute, Sakura thought lightly, staring at the girl in awe as she merely smiled pleasantly at the man standing high above them, oblivious to the pink haired woman beside her. Another name was said, and Sakura averted her gaze to the ecstatic female bouncing happily, her huge, er, assets bouncing too. Sakura frowned, wondering how she had gotten picked, seeing as how she didn't seem to have done anything. Tenten, noticing Sakura's quizzical glance, grinned.

"Her name was called, because she was going to call the police if we didn't stop," She enlightened, before returning her smile to the line.

Another name, and another, and another, and another were called, Sakura was starting to get restless, the need to move about or jump around or even run away. . .

"Alright. That's everyone, those who were not called, must leave now," The man said darkly, his glare intensifying ten fold as screeches of utter rage began to fill the air, sounding nothing more than a huge flock of angry seagulls. Sakura gaped openly, her heart filling with a kind of triumphant pleasure as she suddenly processed the beautiful fact.

They hadn't called her name!

With a cheer of utter joy, she leaped in the air almost clicking her heels together with the sheer awesomeness of it all. As she slowly danced towards the direction of Naruto and Sasuke's cars, she wondered silently how they had known the women's names. Maybe, she thought, they had some sort of 'sign in' sheet and she was just too late to sign it. Well, whatever the reason was she was grateful to Naruto for having made her late.

"Ah! Excuse me! Neji-kun would like you to return, ma'am." A diminutive hand grasped her shoulder, holding her back.

. . .

Sakura felt her ecstasy deflate abruptly and she turned around slowly, a pathetic expression adorning her face, she looked nothing more than a poor woman who had just been offered gold and had it swiped away from her all in less than a second.

Miruki took her hand in hers, tugging her back in the direction of the huge boat, her long pigtails swirling in the breeze that nipped at Sakura's face as she mindlessly followed. She should have known it was too simple, no, God would never let her off that easily, her shoulders sagged hopelessly.

She nearly bumped into Miruki when the girl came to a halt, lost in her old little cesspit of moral depression, and the shrieks of utter indignation were still ringing in her ears as those guard-like men, who were previously on board the ship, dragged away the kicking and screaming women.

"You, the pink haired girl, what's your name? You obviously didn't get here on time." Sakura peered up, the sun shining in her eyes, as she tried to give identity to the voice that had spoken loudly above the screams, her green orbs finally settled on Neji's tall form staring down at her, his expression unreadable and for the most part imperceptible. Since she could barely make out his face, she decided on scowling resentfully at him, her arm over her eyes to shade them from the blaring sun, shining there yet warming nothing on the Earth's icy surface.

Suddenly, she felt herself knocked lightly on the head, as if she were a door and Tenten was beside her. "Look, I know he's hot and all, but we need to know your name," She commented, misinterpreting Sakura's glare for a stare of admiration. Hanabi, though, saw her expression clearly, and was astounded even more in her passiveness.

"Uh, Haruno. Haruno, Sakura," The pinkette muttered, pulling her glower away from Neji's non visible face to look at Tenten with an acquiescent stare, hands to her sides. Tenten met her docile form with a quizzical but peppy smile, before pivoting around to the small amount of remaining women.

"Wow, well, that test got rid of a _lot_ more than I had expected. . .Cool!" Tenten cheered enthusiastically, sending her companion, Hanabi a pleased glance. Sakura, finally realizing being depressed wasn't going to solve anything, was particularly amazed to find less than fifty of what used to be hundreds of women left.

"Ladies, we have only thirty six women remaining, board the ship!" Neji announced, swiftly disappearing from the railing with a flourish. Squeals of pure and unadulterated elation wracked Sakura's spine, as the thirty six women went stampeding up the boat ramp towards their destination. They waited silently, until all that remained, were Tenten, Hanabi, Miruki and Sakura herself. Neji's two little cohorts in evil deception followed at a more relaxed pace. Miruki turned to give Sakura a grin.

"Rule number 1: To get noticed in an interview, you have to go against the current, act out, stand out. Obviously you have that rule down, Sakura-chan," She said with such an admiring tone, Sakura was slightly taken aback, and merely watched blankly as the cute little girl skipped over to the ramp. Unfortunately for Sakura, she _didn't_ follow, so she _didn't_ hear the rest of Miruki's rules. "Rule number 2: Get close to you enemies, bring them into your den, make them safe there, and then attack them when they least expect it. Mm, poor Sakura-chan."

Sakura sighed, when suddenly an idea struck her, she glanced around surreptitiously, nobody was left, everyone had followed Neji. Meaning, nobody left to stop her from escaping. With a smile of delight, Sakura spun on her fur booted heel, and darted towards Naruto and Sasuke. Unfortunately, the snowy land she had to run through, was nothing more than a flat plain all the way to the old fishing warehouse her friends were parked, so if anyone were to even glance out their window, she would be a big clearly visible blob against the white snow, dashing for freedom.

Ignoring the risks of doing so, Sakura continued in her mad run, frantic to escape. Preoccupied with her hopes of not getting caught and her racing thoughts and her raging adrenaline, she didn't notice the raised clump of snow her right boot was heading right for and as a result, her foot collided with it, stumping her and causing her to fly to the frosty ground with a smack. "Oompf!" Sakura grunted irately, her face slamming hard into the solid snow, apparently many people took this way of travel, for the snow was heavily packed and excessively painful to come into forceful contact with.

Sakura groaned sorely, raising her head from the freezing snow, trying her hardest to ignore the wet cold that seeped into her jeans and through her black sweater, dampening Naruto's jacket. She lifted her hand to rub her stinging face, restimulating the blood flow originally stopped by the frigid snow, slowly allowing the numbness to dissolve. "Ugh, why the hell does this always happen to me?" Sakura moaned, tempted to bang her head repeatedly against the hard snow, but her rational part of her mind prevented her from doing so.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura glanced up, and saw Naruto and Sasuke dashing through the thick snow towards her, worried expressions marring their faces. Naruto got their first, and immediately dropped down to a kneel, in order to grasp her shoulders and pull her into a sitting position in the cold snow. Sakura sat, knees bent, feet on either side of her, hands between her thighs as she stared curiously at Naruto and Sasuke, who crouched down beside her.

"Naruto? Sasuke? Wow, you guys are fast," Sakura said absently, peering over Naruto's shoulder and seeing their cars at at least a forty foot distance. Naruto ignored her comment, and leaned forward, noticing her shivering, to peel his damp jacket off from her shoulders. Sasuke gave Naruto a skeptical look, seeing as how he had just made the pinkette even more exposed to the cold weather, but Naruto merely slipped his own identical jacket off, warm and comfortable to place on his favorite Sakura's form.

Immediately, she slipped her icing arms into the sleeves and savored the never ending heat that emanated off of the article of clothing and seeped into her skin, warming her to the bone. She grinned gratefully at Naruto, and leaned forward to embrace him, high on non coldness, lavishing in the even more comforting body heat that he produced for some curious reason. Sasuke watched the exchange with great agitation, jealousy bubbling in the pit of his stomach, he was already pissed enough at Naruto for stealing a kiss from his Sakura when he couldn't even do so. And now they were hugging in front of him.

Sakura pulled away from Naruto after a moment, much to the blond's dismay. "Anyway, what're you guys doing out here? You could easily be spotted by Neji, and then he could tell on you to Ino. Then you'd get in trouble for intervening," Sakura said, concerned. As she glanced back and forth between Sasuke and Naruto, who both shrugged carelessly in turn.

"Who cares? That spoiled brat couldn't do much to keep us away from you, anyway," Sasuke stated blandly, as if it wasn't a subtle proclamation of his persistence to have her, his obsidian eyes half covered by lazy lids as he rocked onto the heels of his black shoes. Naruto nodded his head in silent agreement, pulling the jacket that used to be on Sakura's body onto his own and basking in the familiar, enticing scent that radiated off of it.

"Yeah, I guess. . ." Sakura trailed off, glancing over her shoulder at Neji's ship, curious as to what kind of test he was putting the women through now, but glad to not be taking part in it. Whatever _it_ was.

"So what were you trying to do Sakura-chan?" Naruto inquired, crossing his legs in the snow and inching closer to Sakura's side, in case she got cold. And as Sakura explained to the Uzumaki and Uchiha what had happened, high above the three, on the ship, a certain Neji Hyuuga sat, directly adjacent to the window, with a clear and distinct view of the snowy plain.

"Neji-nii-sama?" Hanabi asked, in a low hushed voice, as the remaining nineteen women sitting neatly and cordially, dressed in fancy gowns loaned to them by Hinata Hyuuga herself surrounded them. Neji's next test, would be to find out if they could dance. Because Neji had millions of balls and formal dances he had to attend, and he refused to be embarrassed just because his wife was ignorant, he also enjoyed to dance as well, so the woman he had to marry should know how to properly dance too.

He waved Hanabi off, glancing at each individual woman, allowing his eyes to drift ever so slowly from one to the next, his pearl colored orbs stopping absently on the wide window beside him. He studied it mindlessly, his head resting lightly on his fist as more women came in, dressed in gowns and sat themselves at white formal tables. The pristine snow shimmered brilliantly, illuminated by the sunlight that cascaded across the seemingly endless plain, nothing blocked the shining white that covered it-

Neji narrowed crystal eyes, before rubbing them lightly and narrowing them again. No, that couldn't be right. Wasn't there a pink haired girl in that mass of women that were supposed to board the ship? Vaguely, Neji recalled talking to a pink little ball of rage, when he'd merely asked her name, she glared at him so fiercely, he had the impression of his uncle, Hiashi, she was indeed a strange one. But sitting, out on the snowy plain, was that exact same pink girl, talking with. . . Naruto and Uchiha?! Abruptly, Neji rose to his feet, causing the girls who had been watching him to jump, startled by the sudden movement.

"Neji-nii-sama?"

Neji turned, having forgotten his younger cousin, in his need to figure out why two men just as rich and famous as he was, were just sitting in the snow with one of his wife candidates. "I have to check something. Keep everyone in order while I'm gone." And he hurriedly exited the room, motioning to a Hyuuga guard on his way towards the ramp, he followed obediently.

Sakura rubbed her hands together, and let a warm breath mist across them as Naruto and Sasuke watched her. "So, does that mean you want to go home then?" Naruto queried, his arm around her shoulders, and his hand rubbing her upper arm. Sasuke sat Indian style in between Sakura's outstretched legs, one of his hands resting on her knee as he watched her curiously.

"I dunno, probably. I mean, I successfully escaped. There's nothing left to really do here, anyway," Sakura said with a careless shrug, unawares to the man heading across the ice towards them, guard in tow. "Wait. You don't think he'll tell Ino that I never showed up do you?!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly, her pupils dilated in horror as she looked frantically from Sasuke to Naruto. In between her hysterical glances back in forth her eyes caught sight of a moving object and that moving object happened to be a millionaire by the name of Hyuuga Neji. And he was heading their way. Her eyes grew as wide as dinner plates and she gawked in dread, Sasuke and Naruto followed her gaze and immediately tensed at the man who came to a stop mere feet away from where they sat.

"Uzumaki, Uchiha. I would like to know just what you are doing with the my wife candidate out here."

Sakura, composing herself, cocked her head to the side as he glared at both men, not even sparing the pinkette a glance, as if she wasn't worth as much. Sakura glowered at the man, she was beginning to hate him more and more. Naruto's arm, that was still very much around Sakura's shoulders, tightened it's grip, pulling her slightly closer to his warm chest.

"Humph, if you haven't noticed, Neji, Sakura was leaving your interview, she doesn't want to be here," The blond growled, vibrating Sakura's back as she watched the exchange with the utmost tenacity.

"Yeah, and we were just leaving," Sasuke said stoically, has hand on Sakura's knee tensing, as if he needed something to hold on to, in order to keep himself from punching Neji and making a a break for it. Neji narrowed his eyes, wondering impassively, just who in the world this pink haired girl was. Suddenly, a memory hit him like a ton of bricks, an indistinct, blurry memory of that super model. . . Ino, was it? He obscurely remembered her saying _something_ about a pink haired girl, but what was it. . . Ah!

"_Neji, I have a friend I'd like you to know about, because if she doesn't show at your interview I want you to call me. Her name's Sakura Haruno, she's short, pink haired and defiant. I mean, she really doesn't want to come, but she owes me, so she'll be there."_

Hm. Neji smirked, as an idea struck that genius mind of his. "Sakura, if you don't come and attend my interview, then a certain Ino and I are going to have a little chat," He said, his white eyes glinting. His confidence in his plan was boosted when all three them's shoulders sagged irrefutably.

"Bastard," Sasuke cursed under his breath releasing Sakura, Naruto reluctantly doing the same, before leaning forward and pecking her cheek lightly. Neji held his hand out to the pinkette who glared at the Wintry ground.

"I don't need your help, Hyuuga, I can get up on my own," She muttered, knocking away his outstretched hand and pulling herself to her feet, turning to help Sasuke and Naruto up, and unlike her, they excepted the offer full heartedly.

"I want you two gone, when Sakura leaves this interview," Neji stated off-handedly, before spinning around and stepping back towards the enormous boat, motioning for Sakura to follow. Naruto and Sasuke both kissed her bye, as she stomped off behind him.

The two had no intentions of leaving, and they smirked at each other, far from leaving, actually.

Sakura tromped through the deepening snow, mindful of the minuscule snow flakes that drifted around them, swaying ever so lightly in the light cool breeze. She pursued after Neji, unwillingly, mind you, tightening her grip on her new Naruto's coat, thoughts drifting through her head like the dainty snowflakes that drifted by. She was curious as to what the hell she was going to have to do, and she was angry at Neji for threatening her, and she was angry at herself for ever having befriended Ino . . . Then again, it was the obnoxious blond who had caused her to meet Kakashi and Naruto and Sasuke and everyone, who, while still being completely and utterly annoying, were kind of her friends. Except Itachi. He's mean.

"Can you dance?" Neji asked suddenly out of the blue and Sakura glanced up abruptly, startled, as they climbed the uphill slope that was the ramp. She quirked an eyebrow at the strange question, and thought it better not to honor it with an answer. No. She couldn't dance, Sakura couldn't dance to save her life and that was the complete truth. She had tried to go to prom in high school with her date, who she can't even remember anymore, and she ended up stepping on his toes and tripping into the food table and slathering her face and chest with chip dip and punch. No, Sakura could not dance.

They reached the door, and Neji held it open for her like a gentleman, and she merely ignored him completely, walking past him without so much as a sideways glance. He ushered her over to another door down a hallway, further down Sakura caught glimpses of women wearing fancy dresses and sitting at tables, despite all their elegant surroundings their expressions were anything but, as they were all yelling at some unknown someone that Sakura couldn't see. Neji pushed on the small of her back, and she tripped into the room he had placed her in, and she faintly heard his lithe footsteps as he hurried to calm the yowling and angry women, inquiring the whereabouts of their Neji Hyuuga.

Sakura glanced around the room with an air of boredom, the room was like any other room you'd find on a boat as big as the one she was currently standing on. A bed was against a wall, an excessively fancy looking bed, but a bed nonetheless, and a dresser was by another wall, with a door that must have lead to a closet or something.

"Huh? O-oh, I thought that w-was everyone," Sakura flinched in surprise and saw a girl come from around the corner that lead to a hallway in the suite that she stood in, she had long navy blue, purple hair that shimmered, even in the dim lights, and she was wearing a white summer dress in the middle of winter, her eyes were pure white, just like Neji's and the rest of the Hyuuga's.

"Um, hi? What am I supposed to do?" Sakura asked, stepping towards the girl, whose face was mysteriously red, and Sakura came to the conclusion that this Hyuuga was extremely shy.

"W-well, Neji-nii-sama, would l-like all of his women to wear gowns, for the next t-test, because it's more appropriate," She stuttered in a whispery voice, the kind of voice that sort of drifted in the wind if you let it. Sakura scratched her pink head, curious as to what the next test could possibly be like.

"Oh, okay. . . Am I supposed to borrow a dress?" She inquired, standing in the middle of the room as the introverted girl nodded then slowly stepped towards her and gave her a timid cross examination, doubtlessly to determine what dress she would fit in. And as the girl measured her with her extremely deft eyes, Sakura scrutinized her in return. They were both roughly the same height, Sakura may have been a slight bit taller but not a significantly notable amount, they had about the same body shape too, except possibly the violet haired girl had a bit more curves and a bit bigger breast size. Sakura rubbed her neck self-consciously.

Maybe they weren't so much alike as she had originally thought . . .

"Ah! I forgot to introduce m-my self! My name is Hinata H-Hyuuga," Hinata greeted demurely, the red that seemed to never leave her pale cheeks becoming a slight bit darker as she stuck out a pallid hand. Sakura smiled not unkindly at the ostensibly smaller girl, lifting her own hand to grip hers.

"I'm Sakura. Hey, are you related to Neji? You have the same last name," Sakura questioned, inclining her to the side as she released Hinata's hand. The girl merely nodded in return, opting for not speaking lest she stutter again.

"So, do you think you have a dress? Because you know, if you don't or anything, I can just leave. . . And you can just tell Mr. Stick-up-his-ass that I. . . That I _vanished_," Sakura suggested _convincingly_, and she clasped her hands together with an innocent grin. Hinata returned her smile with a weak smile of her own.

"Sorry, I can't," She said, and she sincerely sounded apologetic, so Sakura decided not to shove her into the wall and make a brash escape. It would be rude and unnecessary, and she really didn't want to hurt Hinata, she was so innocent and cute. Sakura was extremely susceptible to adorableness, obviously. "A-anyway, I think I have the perfect dress for you Sakura-san! Hold on, and let me get it. . . I hope it fits you."

Hinata quirked a smile, before spinning lightly and gracefully on her heel with the bashful air of a princess towards the closet, her white dress whirling around slender legs. Sakura watched in wonder as to what the Hyuuga heiress could possibly have thought of as a _perfect_ dress, it frightened her slightly, what if it was too showy? Then what would she do?

Well, she'd have to make a break for it, Neji couldn't say she hadn't shown up because she had, she just hadn't stayed. A loophole! Sakura snapped her fingers, accompanied with a 'Yeah!' but her mouth immediately sealed shut, when Hinata reappeared a long silken garment draped over her arms. She smiled, a small weak smile, that ever staying crimson still sprayed vibrantly across her lackluster skin.

"H-here, Sakura-san. I think this dress'll be good on you," She stumbled over her words, offering up the gown as she stood before Sakura, hoping the pinkette in question would indeed appear more refined for the dancing that was to be coming. Sakura's green eyes roved over the thin, light silk material, chiffon. She knew that much. It was a creamy pink and yellow evening gown, it was soft to the fingertips and sent soft tingles up the spine. Hinata, noticing the awe gleaming in Sakura's leaf colored eyes, stepped back a yard and held the dress out at arm's length so as to allow the woman to get a better assessment of the overall design.

Sakura practically gushed at the beauty of it. The gown consisted of two creamy light pink, lighter than her hair, sashes that came from either side of the dress and folded over each other to create the breast. The two pieces tied into two petite little knots on the shoulders to hold the dress up, underneath the sashes, to cover the belly, was a light yellow cloth that would indefinitely cling to the stomach like a second skin. Below that, was the long flowing pink and yellow skirt that draped like curtains around the legs and fell around the feet.

"It's a 1940s Pink Cream Chiffon Evening Gown, here, try it on," Hinata thrust the garment forward, into Sakura's hands and indicated to a door just on the edge of the corner she had previously been hiding behind. Sakura nodded slowly, before gently holding the dress cloaked in her arms as she carefully walked towards the room, trying her hardest not to wrinkle or rip the thin material.

After she successfully entered the room, which was a bathroom, she shut the door behind her, not bothering to lock it, for it was only Hinata waiting outside for her. Quickly, she removed Naruto's jacket and her black sweater, suddenly realizing that it was much warmer in the boat than the outdoors, which was to be expected, of course. Pulling off her last layer of shirt, she moved to slip off her fur trimmed boots and jeans, tossing them into the immensely large jacuzzi in the corner. Indeed the bathroom was not a normal one, and quite a far cry from what she was used to, but she ignored her surroundings, focusing solely on the dress before her. Surely, Sakura wasn't one to gawk and lust for expensive things like chiffon gowns and diamond jewelry, but she always admired great pieces of work, unfortunately, that same rule fully applied to men as well. Hence the non fangirlish ways she tended to have for dangerously sexy men she had never met.

Now, left only in her skivvies, Sakura grabbed the gown delicately between her fingertips and ever so gently pulled it over her bare body, marveling in the feel of the soft silken chiffon against her skin, just as her suitors marveled in her soft, silken skin against theirs, of course she didn't know that, and how could she? Sakura adjusted the dress so that it felt comfortable, and made for the full body length mirror that wasn't a surprise in the exceptional bathroom. Her eyes were screwed shut, in fear that she may not look as good as she felt.

Abruptly, the door opened, and Sakura jerked around so fast she almost slipped on the smooth marble flooring. Hinata stood there, her Albescent eyes wide with shock and utter, speechless astonishment, her hand gradually found it's way to her mouth as she gaped in surprised at the positively divine sight before her. Of course, she had seen many other women, all dressed in beautiful gowns that she made sure had complimented them, and a great many of them how more endowments then this pink haired woman, and many more of them were models who were considered some of the most beautiful women in Japan. . . But, this. This was true beauty, and it shown through her own innocently ignorant expression, and her shining, brilliant eyes, her pink lips matching almost perfectly with her shimmering dawn kissed hair, she glowed no matter where she was, Hinata was sure of it. And the pink chiffon dress only augmented to that enchantment.

"Hinata? Er, how do I look?" Sakura asked quietly, suddenly extremely self-conscious at the violet haired girl's wondering stare. As Sakura asked this, she made to twirl, the skirts of her dress flared around her, like a brilliant wave of sunset around her slim legs. When she stopped, Hinata had her hands to her heart and an enormous, the biggest Sakura had ever seen, smile on her face, she looked abashed.

"Sakura-san, you're absolutely dazzling," Hinata whispered, just loud enough for Sakura to make out, and her face instantly burst into red flame, and she hid behind her hands. Hinata stepped over to her, and turned her back towards the mirror. "Here, just look. You'll see," She said calmly in her ear, wondering inwardly where she had gained this sudden burst of confidence. Sakura must be contagious, oh, I do hope Neji chooses her, she's absolutely the best, Hinata thought to herself carefully, lightly pulling Sakura's hands from her face. Slowly, fearfully, Sakura raised her head to glance at her reflection. She was inflamed by what she saw there. A gorgeous pink haired beauty, confident and radiant. She saw her mother there. Her real mother. And small tears welled up in the corner of her eyes.

Hinata rubbed her arm in silent understanding, "You should hurry to the interview, Sakura-san." Sakura nodded absently, trying her absolute best to rid herself of her memories from so long ago, and following after the Hyuuga towards the hallway where she had seen the open area filled with eloquently dressed women. "There you are, just sit at that table it's closest, Sakura-san." Sakura merely nodded again, composing herself and heading towards the table Hinata had indicated too, settling herself, unnoticed. She stared in the direction all the other women were looking, and saw her eyes rest upon a pair of people dancing across the wooden floor, placed conveniently in the middle of the ballroom. One person, the taller, long haired one, was Neji Hyuuga and dancing at his side was the petite little Miruki herself. Her black pigtails had been thoroughly removed, all that remained was a long flowing river of ebony hair, her blue and white dress fluttered around her as she followed in perfect step with the piano piece being tinkered away on the grand piano off to the side, Hanabi sat there, intensively lost in her soft key striking, oblivious to the women around her. Blankly, Sakura realized Miruki had no shoes, no high heels, no flats, no nothing. Just bare feet, as she patted across the floor in an elegant dance.

Immediately, that fact reminded Sakura of her own two feet, which she soon realized where also bare of any protection, she curled her toes absently, feeling the carpet curl with them. She glanced around, already lost in the perfectly synced movements of Miruki and Neji, she noticed with a shock that the amount of women had sorely decreased from the original nineteen from when she entered to about seven. Those same seven women looked to have already had a turn to dance with the great Hyuuga, as they were all positioned on the opposite side of the ballroom. Huddling together and watching Miruki with animosity and envy, apparently she was the best of them all. In fact the women were so focused on Miruki's fluid movements they had failed to even register that Sakura had entered.

Finally, Hanabi's fingers stopped their swift maneuvering along the white and black keys and she looked up over her piano, catching Neji's pure white eyes with her own matching ones. Neji nodded, before twirling Miruki one last time on his arm and allowing her to take a much needed rest in a chair beside the other seven women, indicating that she had passed the second test. He began to raise his hand, symbolizing the end of the second test, but Hanabi cleared her throat loudly and pointed across the room at the pinkette who sat calmly watching a different direction, oblivious to the new attention directed at her.

"Ah, Sakura. You're the last one, come." The way he said it, so commanding, as if she were a dog or a possession worth nothing more than his left shoe, and for all Sakura knew she probably was. She stood gradually, buying time, procrastinating, egging along and prolonging the moment she wasn't going to be making a fool of herself in front of the eight women, Hanabi, Tenten, who sat behind the passed women and Hinata who made to join her, speaking with the brunette in hushed whispers. Reaching the wooden floor, feeling it's cool, hard surface beneath the balls of her feet, Sakura took Neji's outstretched hand in her own, allowing him to tug her towards his chest like he had the others before her. If he was struck by the absolute beauty that emanated off of her, as palpable as the heat that burned Neji's hand when he held hers, he didn't show it. He merely waved his other hand at Hanabi to begin playing once more. And so she did.

And Sakura felt Neji begin to move in the same routine he had done with Miruki, felt herself being twirled and spun and held just as what dancing consisted of. Her ravishing dress tickled her ankles when she was slowly spun, her pink hair was flurried around her face in the most adorable way, of course, Neji didn't seem affected, holding her against his chest, and lingeringly swaying to the enchanting music that played beneath Hanabi's deft fingers.

He didn't acknowledge it, but every single minuscule moment he touched her bare skin, the slightest brush of the tip of his fingers, scent a wracking series of pleasant shivers up his spine, though Neji was a professional at masking his true emotions. For if he weren't, instead of his face being a perfect mask of impassiveness, it would be filled pleasure and need to keep touching the rosy beauty before him, to remain in this trance-like state as he twirled her across the wooden floor, lost in the feel of her small body pressed to his, of her hands held tightly in his, of her scent that drifted off of her in a fragrant perfume of elegant flowers. Neji didn't fully know it yet, but at that moment, he had already decided who he was going to spend the rest of his life with.

In Sakura's mind, the music couldn't end soon enough, her clumsy steps were not lost on the watching women, who occasionally sniggered when she stumbled and Neji had to pull her back against him, and when he spun her on her heel and she fell out of it practically tripping over her own feet. But all things come to an end, and finally the music stopped. She immediately slackened her grip on Neji's hands, allowing them to drop at her sides. . . Only, they didn't. Neji still held them fast in his, as he turned to face Hanabi, white eyes alight with an emotion that the younger girl could not quite begin to understand at her ripe age of seventeen. Tenten and Hinata, however, understood completely even if Neji himself didn't notice it, the two girls understood him better than he did himself and they knew love when they saw it.

Tenten stood to her feet, bare like everyone else, "Attention women, I'm truly sorry, but Neji had decided that none of you will be being his contestant for the Contest. Now please, vacate the area at once, oh, and make sure to return to your original clothes, you are not allowed to steal Hinata-chan's dresses. Failure to do so will result in _severe_ punishment," The guards were tall and straight against the walls, watching the remaining women sternly, practically daring one of them to even utter a sound of protest. The women's jaws dropped to the carpet, and their eyes burned with unbidden fury, but one glance at the guards and they were on their feet and stomping their way back to Hinata's room to reacquire their clothes. When they had been successfully vacated, Tenten and Hinata turned to Neji, Hanabi rising to her feet and stretching.

Sakura stood helplessly as Neji gradually, reluctantly released her hands his full attention on his friend, Tenten, who grinned at him, throwing a friendly arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Neji, I think we have a winner." Sakura's emerald orbs grew huge, and she gaped, positively horrified. Before Neji could reply to Tenten's very brash statement Sakura opened her mouth.

"But-! I-I, I can't even dance!" She exclaimed, clutching her dress in her fist and glaring indignantly at Neji as if it were all _his_ fault she was in this boat. _Again_. And it practically was. Hinata's and Tenten's eyes grew wide with surprise, even Neji was watching her with open curiosity, was this girl, this woman, _rejecting_ him? No, of course not. That would never happen, right?

"Don't you _want_ to be Neji's wife-to-be?" Tenten inquired bewilderedly, as if she had never heard such blasphemy, after all, Neji was like _God_. What woman _didn't _want him? Sakura waved her hands rapidly in front of her face, trying to inwardly control her spinning head, dizzy with disbelief.

"Wait, Tenten. What makes you think I even _want _to marry Sakura?" Neji asked, glaring at the bun-haired woman coddling the pinkette, her face pressed tight to her bright hair. Sakura glanced at him, not in the least bit insulted, as she nodded in sure agreement. Tenten rolled her chocolatl colored eyes, and leaned her head against the distressed Sakura's.

"Well, first of all, you called her Sakura instead of 'this woman' like you usually call everyone. Sexist pig," She muttered the last part, but smiled anyway, shaking Sakura as if to enunciate her previous words, that Sakura was his _one._

"And, the way you held her and looked at her while you two were dancing, it was obvious how addicted you were to her every move," Hinata added, not a stutter in presence as she looked at her older cousin with convincing definite indigence. Tenten shrugged.

"And there's that," She agreed, grinning at her friend, who in turn glowered at her, thoroughly and silently denying their pathetic evidence, crossing his arms and staring in the opposite direction. Hanabi and Tenten shared a knowing look, and Hinata suddenly appeared at Sakura's other side, not occupied by Tenten. Carefully, she lifted Sakura's arm, allowing her hand to slide down the length of her appendage, resting at her hand and placing it very slowly against Neji's pallid cheek. Her movement, met little resistance from the pinkette herself, Hinata had given her such a confident and composed look, so different from the shy girl she had seen before, she couldn't react in time to pull her hand away and before she knew it, she felt the smooth skin of Neji's cheek beneath the palm of her hand.

Neji, surprised by the soft, tender hand on his face, abruptly turned his head to watch, wide-eyed, at Sakura's face, her own eyes wide with shock, but before she had the mind to retract her hand, she saw the oldest Hyuuga's face gradually melt from dumbfounded to pleasure and he didn't even realize. Of course, Tenten, Hinata and even Sakura did. Just the simple _feel_ of her supple hand touching, caressing his face was enough to warm his heart and force him to yearn for more, to touch her own face. So, to meet this need, he lifted his hand to gently hold her cheek, his other hand to hers, in order to keep it in place, to continue to relish in the bliss. His hand met her face, and a whole new sensation exploded inside him like a colorful firework of a spectrum of different emotions: ecstasy, desire, rapture, want, love and everything in between.

But before he could have time to continue this new discovery of hidden emotion, Sakura was abruptly ripped from his grip, jerked back and away from him, Tenten and Hinata. Shock etched onto his face, he immediately looked up and his eyes met with the two men he wanted least to see at that moment.

Sasuke and Naruto stood on either side of a very confused Sakura. One of Sasuke's arms wrapped tightly around her chest the other atop her head, his cheek pressed against her hair as he narrowed his eyes, strengthening his possessive grip. Naruto had an arm around her waist, the other around her neck, his nose by her forehead as he held her protectively, his glare on Neji growing more and more hateful by the minute.

"Woah, woah! How the hell did you two get in here!?" Tenten exclaimed, scowling accusingly at the two millionaires who clutched Neji's new woman to their chests as if she was theirs. Naruto glowered at her, clutching Sakura tighter, and relishing in the feel of her curves against his stomach. She was absolutely beautiful, she was positively _divine._ Naruto didn't think he'd ever seen anyone more stunning than she was—is. She is the most glorious woman in the world and she is _his_. Sasuke was just as awed by her shining beauty as Naruto and he couldn't help but fall in love with her all over again, her scent engulfing him ten fold and he was never more aware of woman than he was at that moment.

"We're rich. And your guards suck," Naruto stated, rather ineloquently, nuzzling his nose against his Sakura's forehead. As Neji stood between Hinata and Tenten, his pearl white eyes processed the image of the two younger men clutching his Sakura to their chests, and the pure and unadulterated rage that poured through every fiber of his being was barely contained, his heart was pulsing at an innumerable rate, he couldn't wait to rip the two limb from limb. But he digresses.

"Well, Naruto. Sasuke. I have chosen Sakura Haruno to be my contestant and future wife in that childish contest and if you two don't release her, I'll flay you alive," The Hyuuga declared with such unwavering certainty even Hinata found herself slightly thrown by the sudden proclamation. Silently, the female Hyuuga found herself inwardly sniggering. She was right, Neji _did _love Sakura. And that meant, that if the two got married then that beautiful being would be _her_ sister. Sasuke and Naruto were there to take her away with them, to keep her from becoming part of her family and Hinata just _couldn't_ let that happen. Tenten felt the same.

"Sakura's not yours, she's _mine_," Naruto growled, low and dark and possessive, the blond hated to share, he despised the fact that he needed Sasuke's help to sneak onto the ship unnoticed and now he had to let the Uchiha actually _touch_ his Sakura. Sasuke merely watched through dangerously narrowed obsidian eyes, trying not to get drunk off of Sakura's intoxicating presence.

Neji narrowed his own eyes, barely managing to keep his anger in check, "She's _mine_ now, so release her, _now_." Tenten could tell the Hyuuga was losing his composure and before long an all out mortal combat would break out, she had to do _something_. The brunette carefully mapped out a plan in her head as the three men continued to bicker like children over a plaything, Hinata watching Sasuke and Naruto ferociously. Cautious to be unseen, she waved her hand lightly to acquire Hinata's attention, indicating for her to quietly move over to her so that they were in whispering distance, Hanabi already standing behind the two.

"Alright I have a plan. . ."

Meanwhile, Neji was tensed, every muscle in his body knocked and ready to release. Every ounce of his being, ready to completely annihilate the two in front of him. He had just met the woman he wanted to be with forever, and he hadn't even gotten time to know her, because of these two bastards.

"I'll give you two brats one more chance to release my Sakura, or I'll-"

"HEY! NEJI-NII-SAMA! WATCH THIS!" Hanabi's screech rang throughout the ballroom as the teen cocked her fist in front of a window, prepared to punch her pale fist through the glass that would surely shred it to bloody scraps in no time. Instantly, every man spun around and their eyes rested on the girl who shot them a grin, determination flashing in her white eyes. And as her fist flung forward and broke through, a shattering shriek pierced everyone's ears and Neji, Naruto, Sasuke and even Sakura began rushing towards her. Hanabi held her fist in her lap, nursing it carefully, as blood began to pour openly from the elongated gash across her knuckle, but before anyone had time to worry about her at all, Sakura was gripped by the arms and jerked away from the men.

Immediately, Naruto and Sasuke spun around in alarm, frustrated and confused. Tenten and Hinata grinned openly at the two, each grabbing hold of one of Sakura's arms, preparing to make a break for it. "See ya later, suckers! We'll be taking Sakura-chan home!" And with that they sped off down the hallway, leaving nothing but the faint scent of flowers where they had last stood.

And then suddenly, Hanabi hopped to her feet, and wiped the 'blood' off her fist. "It's fake!" She proclaimed thrusting her uninjured fist into the air and smiling from one man to the next. They openly gaped at her, before turning back to stare at the empty space where the females had been and then back to Hanabi, empty space, Hanabi, empty space, Hanabi.

In seconds they were gone, with only a trail of smoke left of them.

"TENTEN! HINATA! GIVE SAKURA BACK NOW, DAMMIT!"

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By the way, for those of you who read this, I wrote the dancing scene to Bella's Lullaby on the Twilight Soundtrack. So, I suppose Hanabi is playing that on the piano. Just 'cause I said so.

Oh, and if you would like to know what Naruto's car, Sasuke's car or Sakura's dress looks like, just check out my profile they'll all be linked there. I borrowed the dress picture from my friend. It's a pretty, but old style dress.

Ugh. TWENTY-SIX PAGES. That's 14,631 words. Agh.

PLEASE review!! I wrote this for you guys! It's the longest chapter I have _ever _written for a story! So please review! PLEASE.

Review!,

red


	8. Deidara

In case you were wondering. I haven't died . . . yet.

Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you that complimented the past two chapters, because I've _never_ written Gaara and Sakura or Neji and Sakura before, actually every guy passed chapter five, is going to be my first time portraying them as a counter part for Sakura. Since I kinda created this on a whim. But don't worry, I totally plan on seeing it out till the end! =)

This chapter is dedicated to: xXxXxTainted-WingxXxXx Who's birthday was _quite_ some time ago...

Disclaimer: Despite the fact that red is mentally slow nowadays when it comes to writing and updates. She does NOT own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Enjoy, it's 22 freaking pages, darnit.

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**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

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January Eighth

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"Achoo!"

Sakura grated her finger against her pink nose, sniffling all the while, her drowsy green eyes glancing around frustratedly at the surrounding wads of white, otherwise known as her snot filled Kleenexes. Her head pounded with the force of the migraine throbbing in her brain, her skin felt like it was on fire, even though she was _freezing_ and her pink comforter wasn't doing much to keep her warm . . . Or maybe it was, she _was_ sweating after all.

"Achoo!"

Sakura absolutely _abhorred_ having colds.

"Sakura, how are you holding up?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, as Sasuke popped open the tab of a carbonated water filled can and lowered it into her grasp, plopping down onto the bed beside her. Naruto wasn't there, because he had a few more interviews to finish up with some very important and influential women, that he _assured__—_repeatedly―wouldn't sway his decision about her. Not that she was much worried about him, anyway. And apparently everyone else was participating in their interviews as well. The only reason Sasuke was free, was because the Uchiha corps were still pretending he was missing—much to a million women's dismay.

"Ugh, Sakuraaaaaa! Why do you have to be sick?! You have an interview today!"

Sasuke scowled at the blond who sat at the foot of Sakura's plush bed, a laptop resting neatly in front of her crossed legs. She returned his glare with an embarrassed blush, before turning back to her pink haired friend. Sakura pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders and ignored her irritated companions, opting for staring at the half empty can in her hands. Sasuke perched on the edge of the bed, only just invading Sakura's personal bubble, one leg hanging carelessly over the side and grazing the carpet, as he watched her carefully, poised at the ready to care for her.

"Well I am, and don't you have somewhere important to be? Or something. . ." Sakura trailed off, to sniffle again, clutching her blanket around her shivering form and taking a much needed swig of the carbonated water, relishing in the feel of the icy cold liquid as it flowed down her ravaged throat, sore from coughing. Ino groaned, and put her face in her hands.

Sasuke would have grinned, if he was that kind of person. Fortunately, he isn't, so he simply decided to smirk at the ill pinkette beside him. Not that he was entirely pleased about the fact that his Sakura wasn't doing to well, but at least she would get to miss an interview _and_ she kept snuggling up to his side, whether out of affection or fear of the cold, he didn't mind. Besides, he thought it best not to dwell on that, lest he realize that the most probable, was definitely the latter.

"_What_ are you staring at?" Sakura muttered, glaring at the Uchiha with as much fire as he remembered from the day of Sasori's interview, when she scolded him and the obnoxious redhead. Ah, how he adored being the subject of her animosity. Though, he would much rather be the subject of her affections, but that was something he would have to wait for. He smirked at her pink nose, and, without a word, lifted his cool hand to her forehead, sensing the heat emanate off of her skin and onto his.

"Hm, roughly 99.9," He mumbled, removing his hand and suppressing the joyful emotion that arose from the pit of his stomach. Sakura had looked so enraptured, in the feel of his hand on her skin, he could almost smile, if he were the sort of person who liked to. Fortunately, he wasn't. So he simply settled for watching his pinkette with the slightest hint of a quirk in the corners of his lips.

_What the hell is Uchiha Sasuke smiling about?_ Ino thought irately, drumming her fingernails―manicured to perfection—against her knee as her sky blue eyes glanced from one thing to another. On her laptop screen was a map of a small region of Tokyo, pinpointing the exact location of Deidara's interview. For God's sake, who's bright idea was it to allow Sakura to get sick? Oh, right. Nobody's. Ino growled internally, the slightest bit of a migraine forming in the base of her skull. She glared unintentionally at the youngest Uchiha, who kept fidgeting, he seemed unaware to his odd behavior, and Ino decided he was probably doing so in the subconscious need to hold his feeble flower. Unfortunately, for him, she was just as feisty as she was feeble and she didn't care too much for either of their company.

"What do you mean, 99.9? How can you even tell?" Sakura inquired, seemingly just processing what Sasuke had said earlier. The aluminum can sat―empty—in her hands as she looked at the black haired man beside her with a slightly―but only _slightly_, curious expression. Said man, smirked and wrapped a decidedly cool arm around her slim, blanket covered, shoulders, tugging her to his side.

"I don't know, it's kind of like a gift. I've always been good at telling a person's temperature by touching their forehead," Sasuke replied, running his fingers through his ink black tresses, before bowing his head against hers, taking pleasure in her scent that clung to her damp hair as she raised a perfect pink eyebrow at his actions.

"Sure, but why do you have to hug me?" Sakura questioned, trying at coming off as annoyed, but she sounded just as reluctant for him to release her as she felt. Sure, Sasuke wasn't as warm as Naruto, but he was still a human body, and he still released body heat, and Sakura was still freezing. Add two and two together, and of course she wouldn't want to leave his hold.

At least that's what she kept telling herself.

Sasuke seemed to chuckle at her inquiry, and his grip tightened, "Because, you're cold. And I enjoy hugging you." Was his intelligent reply, while continuing to nuzzle her pink tresses. Sakura frowned, though inwardly pleased with the added warmth, even though she could swear she could feel the beads of sweat rolling down her body, the shivering wouldn't subside.

Oh, _yeah_. She _loathed_ colds.

"Do we have anymore Tylenol? No matter what you say my temperature is, I still feel like shit," Sakura murmured, pulling attention away from their previous subject of conversation, with a sidelong glance at the comfortable Uchiha. He raised his perfect raven eyebrows, before releasing her slightly to peer over his shoulder at the bottle with a colorful label wrapped snugly around it's outer surface, the word _Tylenol_ written across the front in red. Curiously, albeit doubtfully, Sasuke reached with his unoccupied arm to grasp the bottle in his palm and shake it lightly, in order to evaluate the amount of tablets left. He pricked his ears, awaiting the moment when he would hear the _clack-clack-clack_ of the pills, bouncing around and colliding with the plastic of the bottle, unfortunately, that sound never came, indicating the no more-ness of the medicine.

"Sorry, my Sakura, there's no more left, that was the last pill an hour ago," The youngest Uchiha replied, plopping the bottle carelessly back onto the nightstand it was previously resting on. Sakura narrowed her eyes, at nobody in particular before petulantly crossing her arms.

"Well, great. How am I supposed to get better if, I don't even have any more medicine?" She grunted, glaring noncommittally at Ino, for no specific reason. The aforementioned blond cringed away from her sick friend, before returning the look with a frustrated scowl of her own. Sasuke lazily watched the exchange, mulling over how he was going to acquire more Tylenol without having to leave Sakura alone with her blonde bitch friend—_Wait_. That's it!

"Yamanaka, Sakura needs Tylenol, go to the drugstore and get her some more. Or she won't be able to go to what's-his-face's interview," The black haired man demanded, sounding none to delighted with that little fact, not that he seriously expected Tylenol to be able to cure her in less than two hours, in time for the interview. Yeah, _right_.

At first―Sakura noticed, Ino was suspicious of the Uchiha, her sky blue eyes shined with caution as she watched him carefully, but as the seconds morphed into minutes, a small hopeful light began to shimmer in the depths of her eyes. As Sasuke noted this, his smirk grew. Sakura wasn't quite sure what Sasuke was pulling at, seeing as how he was the one who was so enigmatically pleased with the fact that she was intending to skip this interview because of her slight fever.

". . . Fine, I'll go get some. But she's _gonna_ take it," Ino hissed, rising from her lounging position at the foot of the bed and pressing the screen of her laptop down to shut it off. "Don't _do_ anything while I'm gone." Sasuke smirked, Sakura glared at her. "I'll be back as soon as possible." And she disappeared from view, as she descended the stairs.

After hearing the front door close, Sasuke abruptly turned his penetrating gaze to the half-ill pinkette sitting uncomfortably- Or rather, _unwillingly _in his hold. It was quite comfortable, actually. "Why have you kissed Kakashi, Naruto and even my own brother, but not me? I mean, that's hardly fair," Sasuke questioned suddenly, uncharacteristically persuasive and irritated and undemanding. Sort of. Sakura raised a defined pink eyebrow, set fluidly over emerald eyes, that seemed to be shouting 'Are-you-serious?'

"Look, buddy, every single one of those kisses was involuntary," She replied, slightly miffed at the way he was looking at her. As if she had completely betrayed him. Of course, what Sakura was unaware of, was the fact that this was indeed an act, for if Sasuke were to express what he was _really_ feeling at that moment, his normally impassive black eyes would be blazing with possessive rage and aching jealousy. Fortunately, Sasuke was a pretty good actor, and Sakura wasn't much in mind to thoroughly examine him, if she were, she would have probably noticed the twitching cheek muscle that held up his injured smirk and the clenched fist that rested on her shoulder.

"That's what you say, but with having kissed so many men, I can't help but wonder . . . " He trailed off with a calculating glance at the irate pinkette. Sakura glowered, _this_ was the precise reason why she disliked going to interviews, it only produced men who came to your house and asked you inane questions.

"I have nothing to say to that," She said pompously, crossing her arms and inching away, out from under his arm, turning her back to him. Even if it _was_ cold. Sasuke narrowed his eyes accusingly, before following suit and re-invading her personal bubble.

"Then maybe you'll have something to say to this," He began, gripping her slender wrist in his hand. She humphed, and resumed her obstinate forward position, thoroughly ignoring the Uchiha. Sasuke leaned over and lightly rested his chin on her shoulder, his cool cheek pressed to her tepid one.

"Kiss me."

He said so, with such resolve, that Sakura had to give him some credit, as if he actually thought ordering her to kiss him would work. "Ha, very funny. No, thank you." It wasn't that Sasuke wasn't attractive enough, he was _plenty_ attractive. Sakura just didn't enjoy macking with so many different men. If she began to get used to the idea, she would undoubtedly become some sort of whore. And Sakura wasn't to keen on that thought.

"Fine then, _I'll _kiss _you_," And with that, the brash Uchiha spun his pinkette around and pressed her heated lips to his, in an aggressive kiss. He lifted his hand to the back of her head, to keep her from pulling away immediately, not that she would, she was much to caught off guard, you think she would be used to this by now, alas getting surprised kissed by five men, still didn't make the cut. Sakura, eyes wide and mouth agape, could only be slightly bewildered as to why Sasuke's mouth was so cool against hers, then, rather abruptly, the Haruno remembered her cold—how could she have forgotten?

She could feel a delighted giggle bubble up from her throat at the thought. If Sasuke was kissing her, and she was sick. Well, do the math, Sasuke wasn't going to be in perfect health for long. And somewhere inside Sakura's head she laughed an evil laugh, but on the outside of Sakura's head, where she was being mouth raped, she was anything but psychotically happy.

"Mmmf!" She grunted, in defense, when his tongue ran along her pouting lip, gliding like silk, before snaking into the wet warmth of her mouth and tasting every minuscule part, committing the flavor to memory, for he wasn't entirely sure if he would have any chance to kiss his Sakura anytime soon, due to the vast amount of interviews she would be attending, even _if_ he didn't want her to take part in _anything_ involving _anyone_ that wasn't him―Indeed, he was possessive. And he knew it, too.

"I'm _baaaack_!" Ino's voice rang throughout the apartment, as the door slammed shut behind her. Sakura could hear a rattling sound, as the blond shook the bottle of newly acquired―_quickly_ acquired—Tylenol. As Ino's footsteps padded up the carpeted stairs, Sakura felt Sasuke growl irately against her lips, vibrating them, before he pulled away to glare stonily at the unsuspecting super model. Sakura wiped her allegedly contaminated lips on her blanket, before forcing a smile up at her pompous friend, as said friend plopped the white bottle onto her outstretched palm. "Hurry up and take some, you still have time to make it to Deidara's interview! Besides, I swear he'll be your favorite. He's hot, nice _and_ totally into art. Don't you like art, Sakura? Or was that Ami? Hm . . . _Maybe_ it was . . . No, wait she hates art . . ."

Oh, yes. Sakura positively _loved_ how close her and Ino were.

"Deidara's not going to be her favorite and nobody else will ever be, except me," Sasuke stated blandly, while handing Sakura a preprepared cup of water so that she could swallow the Tylenol pills, eager to rid herself of her aggravating cold. As she gulped down the capsules, she felt Sasuke lean against her, arms around her shoulders, as if trying to subtly demonstrate the word, _mine_ to the constantly oblivious Ino, or perhaps she wasn't oblivious―perhaps she just didn't want Sakura to choose just yet. Because despite her spoiled and bitchy countenance, Ino cared terribly for Sakura and was willing to go to the lengths of anything to make sure she didn't end up with the wrong man.

"Oh, bite me, Sasuke. Ugh, I used to think, maybe, _just maybe_, you weren't such an ass, you know, 'cause you're hot and all. But forget that, you're an insolent little lazy bastard," Ino muttered in reply, watching ever so closely as Sakura downed two pills in one massive gulp, hoping among all else that she would be cured of her recent ill status.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke queried, taking the empty cup of water from Sakura's warm hands, ignoring the obnoxiously spiteful super model, for, while her deduction of his character was erroneous, he was quite sure _his _evaluation of her personality was faultless. Largely, because he was an Uchiha. And Uchiha's were never incorrect—With the exception of Itachi, who believed Sakura was his. Which was by far the _most_ incorrect thing Sasuke had ever heard of.

"Better, actually." Of course, Sakura's nose was still filled with mucus, so much so, that she could hardly manage a haggard breath, and she was still mildly cold, despite the fact that her hair was now saturated with sweat and her cheeks were becoming painfully pink, and, ever so faintly, there was a constant stream of thumps in the back of her head, a dull migraine. But other than that, she was fine.

"Good, because Deidara's interview's in twenty minutes. If I get you into the shower now, you could be ready in just the right amount of time, you could get there with minutes to spare," Ino sighed contently, as if that were all she wished for and she was finally about to get it. Sakura parted her lips to protest, but Ino held up her finger, manicured nail gleaming. "Don't even. You and I have a bet, and if you want to go on leeching off of Tsunade then you'd better do as I say, and get you're ass out of that bed. Oh, and tell you're puppy he better not interfere," Ino added, referring to Sasuke's loyal self as she scowled in his direction. He could do nothing but return the resentful look, reluctantly removing his arms from around Sakura's sick form.

Sakura agitatedly ran her fingers through her hair, mopping the pink tresses out of her perspiring face (why in the _world_ Sasuke liked hugging her―covered in sweat as she was, Sakura'll never know). Of course, she was entirely too exhausted and annoyed to quarrel over the fact that—indeed, she did owe Ino a bet, and if she didn't want her living privileges revoked, it was probably more prudent to just go along with the vociferous blond. Besides, how much harm could _one_ interview do her? And she was already intending on doing everything within her power to get eliminated early, anyway, so it wasn't _so_ much of a considerable ordeal.

"Fine. Whatever," She murmured noncommittally, before slinking off the bed, being certain to leave behind the comforter she was previously wrapped in in fear of the cold. At once she was met with the cool, gentle zephyr of air, blowing from the air vent above her head, which caused an immediate shiver to coil through her system. Alas, she managed to ignore it and made her way across the cluttered floor towards the bathroom, to endure a moist shower. At the very least, she comforted, it would be warm.

After her uneventful shower, she wound a fluffy gray towel around her torso, making sure to bind it securely, before heading out the door and entering her bedroom where Sasuke and Ino remained lounging. Not leisurely, never leisurely. Seeing as how, the super model and the millionaire weren't quite the _closest_ of people. Two pairs of eyes instantly shot to Sakura when her feet were heard, padding on the faded carpet, Ino looked appreciative, already planning a perfect ensemble for a girl with a body like Sakura's in her head, not that the negligent girl would truly wear it, but it didn't hurt to fantasize.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was envisioning a whole _different_ scenario, he could already feel the saliva pooling in his mouth, threatening to spill over, fortunately, Sasuke wasn't as primitive as Naruto, and so he managed to look somewhat civilized as he stared openly at his wife-to-be, aching to feel her soft, delectable lips against his again. He cursed the others for attaining a kiss before he. Of course, _he_ was now the only one to ever see Sakura donning nothing but a towel that only draped to the middle of her thighs. God, just the sight of her, standing in the doorway, water dripping from her pink locks, her arms crossed tartly over her chest as she raised a thin pink eyebrow at the two persons in her room, just made a warm swirl of emotions spiral through the pit of his stomach, the most dominate of such emotions being pleasure, lust and a furling possessiveness.

Sakura, unbeknownst to the thoughts raging through Sasuke's mind, and the feelings building up inside him, stepped forward, being sure to clutch the towel close, lest it fall and reveal much to much to the two who watched her admiringly. "Er, Sasuke? Get out, please. You know, exit . . . leave . . . depart . . . vacate . . ." Sakura listed, as the Uchiha merely continued to gaze at her throbbingly. "Hello? Sasuke!" The inflamed pinkette hollered, her hands balled into fists at her sides. The aforementioned man jumped with a start and jerked his head left to right as if to regain his senses, intoxicated by her mere image as she glared at him.

"Uh, sorry. I'll go," He murmured, suppressing the smear of red that dashed his cheeks and reluctantly climbing off the bed to trot down the stairs. Because Sasuke had a considerable amount of self-control, when it concerned anything _other_ than his Sakura and other men. When _that_ happened, any _thought_ that Sasuke _ever_ had self-control went out the window. Unfortunately, for him that happened often.

As Sasuke descended the stairs, his signature black spikes disappearing, Sakura pivoted on her heel to step over towards her dresser and find an appropriate outfit to wear to Deidara's interview. Just something simple and warm.

"So, Ino, what's this Deidara person look like? Since I've never seen him before," Sakura muttered, rifling through her top drawer in search of a suitable top, of course, she didn't much care to know the man's appearance but she thought it more prudent to know anyway, in case he tried something shifty like Sasori had, disguising himself and such.

"Well, he's hot for one thing," Ino sighed dreamily at the thought of Deidara, though he didn't like her much. Her hands to her face, and a blush on her cheeks. Sakura glanced at her in her peripherals and raised an eyebrow at her friend's fangirlish tendencies.

"Ooh, how very descriptive of you," Sakura rolled her emerald eyes, tugging out a pure white-as-snow sweater, and glanced it over, before deeming it eligible for the publics eyes. But, as always, Ino didn't quite agree.

"Er, Sakura? You aren't _actually_ planning on wearing _that_, are you?" Sakura exhaled loudly, sending a particularly irritated scowl her way.

"What's wrong with this?" The pinkette inquired, holding the white sweater up to Ino's face, the soft white material touching her nose. Ino sniffed, pushing Sakura's hand away.

"There's nothing _wrong_ with it. It's just not something you should wear to grab a man's attention, is all. I mean, why don't you ever let me dress you up, you're so cute! I'd bet you would make the most adorable Barbie doll!" Ino gushed animatedly, smiling at her best friend with a suspicious gleam in her eyes. Sakura detested it when Ino got like that.

"But-"

"No. No buts, I'm gonna dress you! I have clothes that are you're perfect size, oh, small one. I carry them around with me, just in case. Anyway, you're sick, you can barely take care of yourself! Please?!" The blond pleaded, giving her favorite friend of eighteen years enormous blue puppy dog eyes. Sakura chucked the sweater in Ino's face, crossing her arms over her toweled chest.

"You know the puppy dog eyes don't work on me," She muttered, pulling underwear out of a second drawer and dropping her towel to the grungy carpet, Ino sniffled throwing the sweater across the bed and jerking to her feet.

"You're cruel." She pouted, giving Sakura a reproachful glare and petulantly sticking her nose in the air. "And now that you've irked me, Sakura Haruno, I'm going to call up one of your suitors to take you to Deidara's interview." Sakura gawked at her, dropping the white bra in her hands to the floor, lost in her surprise.

"B-but, I thought _you_ were supposed to take me!" She shouted indignantly, looking all the image of a girl whose candy had just been violently ripped out of her hands and replaced with a stiff piece of broccoli. Ino recoiled, before smirking mercilessly and pulling her cell phone, properly known as a "Prada Phone" By LG, out of her designer bag.

"Yes, well. I'm famous, I don't have all the time in the world, you know? Anyway, I'll call Sasori over, I heard he stopped his interviews for the day," Ino enlightened carelessly, her touch pad phone screen lighting up as she scrolled through her address book in search of the red-head's number. Sakura pouted, opting to finish clothing herself instead of tearing out her hair from the roots. Besides, she hadn't seen Sasori since Itachi's interview.

. . . _Itachi_. She grimaced.

After the last article of her underwear was pulled on she resumed her uninterested search for something _other_ than the sweater to wear, seeing as how, apparently, it wasn't suitable to catch a man's attention. Seriously, did Ino think she genuinely _wanted_ to partake in these interviews?

"Hello? Yeah, Sasori? I was wondering if you would like to take Sakura to her next interview? You would? Great! Be over at her apartment in five, number seventy three at _Chiyo's_. 'Kay, bye!" Ino finished off her conversation, ending the call and stuffing the cell back into her bag, grinning widely at the pinkette in front of her. "He's on his way."

"I heard," Sakura grumbled, her words coming out muffled as she tugged a long-sleeved, turtleneck gray knit, mini dress, stopping just at mid-thigh, over her head. Something that was fairly in fashion, when worn with skinny jeans and boots. Fortunately, for Sakura she had those two articles of desired material, seeing as how Ino wouldn't let her leave unless she was at least _mildly _fashionable.

"Ooh, cute! I love how it hugs you're curves, Sakura," Ino complimented, adoring the way the fabric flowed down Sakura's torso, proud more with herself, she being the self-proclaimed sensei in style of Sakura. The pink haired girl in mention, rolled her eyes at her blonde friend, but couldn't help the red that smeared across her face, as she pulled a black pair of the aforementioned skinny jeans on. Before she could reply to the flattery, a series of knocks sounded against the dark colored wood of Sakura's door.

"Sakura? Who's that?" Sasuke's voice sounded from downstairs, where he lay, sprawled out on the couch and watching TV, waiting for his Sakura to finish dressing.

"It's Sasori, get the door Sasuke," Ino retorted confidently, handing Sakura her black fur boots.

"_What_?" Sasuke growled, immediately appearing at the bottom of the staircase, looking all the part of the jealous, possessive boyfriend. Ino smirked down at him, grateful Sakura had already been dressed before Sasuke had appeared.

"Sakura wouldn't let me dress her, so as punishment, Sasori's taking her. Not you." Oh, the blonde super model, was much too joyful to be announcing this news, Sasuke clenched his fist against the stair rail, his nails leaving crescents in the wood. As his black eyes narrowed. He _really_, _sincerely_ hated that bitch.

Angrily, Sasuke tromped up the carpeted staircase, shoving past Ino and stopping himself directly in front of the object of his affections as she stared up at him through curious green eyes. He lifted his hands to hold her shoulders and leaned forward, so that they're lips were mere centimeters from reconnecting, as per their earlier kiss.

Sakura pursed her lips.

"What?" She queried carefully, lifting her own hands to his, resting them on top of them and returning his hard stare. She had to be completely stoic, he was obviously unhappy, and she was sick. Better to play it easy, and act as emotionless as he was.

"Are you seriously going to go with Sasori?" He asked, his face a perfect mask of impassiveness, but the grip on her shoulders was tensing. Sakura raised her thin eyebrows, obviously, slightly agitated by the fact that she knew Sasuke would continue to persist to insist she ride with him instead of Sasori. Not that she had much say in the matter. Ugh. She _really_ didn't have the health to deal with male jealousy issues.

So, with all the knowledge that a virgin twenty three year old could have in the matter, Sakura leaned forward pressing her forehead against Sasuke's, the differences in the temperatures emanating off of them was pathetically noticeable, his was so much cooler. Ino, having left to greet Sasori, who was seriously starting to think Ino was a real bitch, was no longer there to pry Sasuke away from Sakura, in her annoying way, so Sakura closed her eyes, took a deep breath and lightly pressed her lips to his. Which from an outsider's point of view would have made no legitimate sense at all, but in Sakura's mind, it seemed the perfect thing to do, to get the furious Uchiha off her back.

Of course, it wasn't a long kiss, roughly a tenth of a second, _maybe_, but Sasuke still felt his mind reel at the prospect. _She_ had kissed _him_. He could hardly remember to move after she pulled away and said something, her lips forming words, more than likely important words, but Sasuke didn't hear it. All he saw was her lips motioning, before she began to violently and confusedly wave her hand in his face trying to see what could possibly be wrong with him. Thoughts, attempting to comprehend, buzzed through the thoroughly stunned Uchiha's head, as Sakura gave up, and began to descend the stairs, to greet Sasori-

"Wait, Sakura." At the thought process of the prat who was also after Sakura, Sasuke's mind was cleared of the haze that had fogged it, and he lunged out to grab Sakura's wrist. She turned abruptly, green eyes wide. "Don't kiss him."

Sakura only stared at him, curiously, as if what he had asked of her was a given. Obviously, she wasn't going to kiss Sasori, believe it or not, she didn't _enjoy_ all of the lip locking with all those different men. "Sakura!" Ino's annoying voice ground out, in irritation. With a jerk, Sakura spun on her heel, tugging Naruto's jacket off the dresser and beginning to pull it over her shoulders in one fluid, natural movement.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," Sakura twitched, as she stopped on the bottom step of the stairs, she saw, firstly, Sasori standing irately in the doorway, arms crossed and teeth clenched, but upon seeing her, his tense position relaxed, and then Ino scowling over her short pink head, more than likely, a scowl directed at Sasuke. Sasori became agitated once more and his face grew even darker at the sight of the Uchiha, who stepped down the stairs after Sakura.

"Sasori," He growled, resting a hand on the top of his pinkette's silky hair and leaning down to plant a peck against her creamy, soft skin. Sakura rolled her eyes, at the jump in Sasori's cheek muscle as the man, moved forward to grasp her wrist in hand and tug her out the door, desperate to take her anywhere where the younger Uchiha wasn't.

"Um, bye Ino!" Sakura called as she stumbled trying to keep up with Sasori's fast pace. They walked across the lot—well, Sasori walked. Sakura played slip and slide across the ice, constantly falling against Sasori, who, evidently, wasn't complaining in the least.

"Ah!"

She cried out, feeling the particularly large chunk of ice, that had _appeared_ safe, slid out from underneath the rubber sole of her boot. Instantly, she found herself in Sasori's arms, once more, as the red-head grabbed her waist to steady her. "Thanks. . . again." She murmured sheepishly, regaining her untrustworthy footing.

Sasori lifted his hand from her waist to smooth down her pink hair, relishing in the soft feel of her tresses against the rough skin of his palm. "It's fine, Sakura." He said plainly, simply satisfied with the sheer fact of being able to see her once again. Since, the last time they had come into contact was at Itachi's interview. The bastard.

"Sasori? What are _you_ doing here?"

Immediately, Sakura put a foot's worth of distance between her and Sasori, at the rickety old voice. An elderly woman, donning a maroon robe with her gray hair pinned up in a bun was standing before them her small, black eyes wide in astonishment. "Sasori?" She mouthed again, awaiting an explanation for his sudden presence, Sakura presumed. Though, the pinkette was slightly surprised that Sasori even knew her landlord.

Sasori raised a red eyebrow. "Chiyo-obaa-sama? What are you-" He started.

"Chiyo _what?! _She's your grandmother?!" Sakura's jaw dropped to the ice covered tar of the street they were standing along. No! That could not be true. There was no way God could be so cruel as to make one of her suitors, her landlord's grandson! No! The voice in Sakura's head was thunderingly loud, as she desperately glanced from one person to the other.

"Oh! Sakura, what are you doing with Sasori? Are you two," Something shady glinted in Chiyo's eye, "_Smitten?_" Sasori smirked. Sakura twitched and she opened her mouth to explain.

"No, no, no! You _see_-"

"She's mine, I've chosen her for that troublesome contest. And I plan on making her my wife, anyway, do you own these apartments Chiyo-obaa-sama?" Sasori changed the subject abruptly, casting an overview glance around at the many apartment complexes clustered together in one lot. Chiyo nodded, with an immature smile, reminding Sakura of the old woman's playful, teasing tendencies.

"Yup, I also own Sakura's quaint little apartment, isn't that right, Sakura?" Chiyo turned her grin on Sakura, said pinkette gulped and nodded subtly, averting her gaze, praying to whatever mystical deity existed above her to please spare her from the stress of Sasori taking advantage of that simple fact. He could have her evicted if she didn't choose him, couldn't he? And she was willing to bet he would do it too. Most likely.

". . .Sorry, Chiyo-obaa-sama, but I'm in charge of Sakura and she really needs to be somewhere. Bye," Sasori bid adieu, in a hurry to take leave and be rid of his grandmother, taking Sakura by the jacket sleeve and tugging her after him once more in the direction of his car, being sure, this time, to avoid any patches of dissolving snow as she followed, waving goodbye. Chiyo smiled after her before disappearing.

When they had successfully crossed the little street that ran throughout her entire apartment complex, they came to the overhang where parked cars rested―but more importantly, where _Sasori's _parked car rested. Said man, thrust his hand into his coat pocket to pull out a transmitter and unlocked the vehicle doors, as it sounded the ceremonious beep, back lights illuminating for a half a second.

Lightly, Sasori pushed another button on his small two inch tall transmitter, and the crimson colored passenger door rose _up_ into the air, allowing access for Sakura. Sasori gestured for her to enter but stopped to raise a curious eyebrow at her face, she looked so positively _enraptured_ Sasori felt a red stain his cheeks as her green eyes glowed with a child like delight. "I should have known! You're rich too after all . . ." She muttered under her breath, which puffed out in a tiny cloud of misty heat, penetrating the icy particle's surrounding her lips. Her ecstatic face intensified ten fold when she dropped to her knees―scaring the ever loving hell out of Sasori—and cross examined the underneath of the car, cheeks gleaming red in her excitement.

"Let me guess, Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo, V8 engine with 750 horsepower?" Sakura's blissful tone purred through Sasori's ears as he gaped at her, despite the twisting pleasure in his chest at the sound of her voice, he could only wish she talked about him like that―instead of his car.

"Er, yeah it is . . . You know cars?" He nearly stuttered, he was so taken aback. Sakura? A car lover? Who would have thought? Not that he was complaining, he'd buy ten thousand expensive cars if it would keep that beautifully, innocent ecstasy that seemed to emanate from her, as she glided her fingers along the paint marveling in the slick feel against her fingertips.

Sasori never thought he'd be jealous of his _car_.

"Oh! Sorry, Sasori. I guess we should probably get going before we get hollered at by the purple, blonde haired dragon," Sakura joked, the enigmatic smile still fully in place. And even though it wasn't directed at Sasori, he still loved that she smiled at him, with such a pleased expression, such a satisfied smile. He wanted that smile to himself. He wanted her to himself. Unfortunately, that was to much to ask, seeing as how the Uchiha's and Naruto were already after her. Not to mention the other men he didn't know about.

Sakura tilted her head at him, childishly, before brushing his strangeness off and skimming along his side to clamber into the passenger seat of the car, careful not to touch anything unnecessarily, her euphoric expression still donning her face as she examined the beauteous interior of the Saleen S7, as Sasori skirted the car, having yet to come out of his stupor, Sakura ran her hand along the dashboard, still completely fascinated with all the perfection that surrounded her in the form of a gorgeous car. If she enjoyed anything about all these bothersome interviews, it was the sexy, speed demons the dictionary defined as cars.

Sasori climbed in, closing both doors with the push of a button and starting the ignition. His amber brown eyes glanced in her direction, for once noticing her semi in style outfit, underneath Naruto's infuriating jacket, the thick gray material slid along the curves of her body and revealed a pleasing figure. Sakura wasn't as curvy as her hourglass shaped friend, Ino, but that made her all the more real and all the more sexy. And as he pulled onto the highway, Sasori could feel the lust to feel such subtle curves against his own body―something he never would have expected to crave—mounting up, steadily increasing, as the woman continued to touch every part of the car in sight, committing the feel to memory. She longed to drive the car, just as Sasori longed for her.

By the time Sasori pulled into an overly crowded parking lot in the middle of Tokyo, the sexual desire to have her in his arms, her lips and body against his was becoming akin to unbearable. Of course, the pinkette was oblivious to such desires, to caught up in her jitters to notice, so many women surrounded their car, all walking in the direction of the humongous fifty story tower, there was a very _small _chance that at least _one _of them wouldn't recognize her. Her red-headed companion, steered the ostentatious vehicle into a temporary parking space, heads turned at the unmistakably expensive car. She exhaled loudly, turning to face Sasori with a nervous smile.

"Thanks for the ride, I love your car- Oh wait! Can I feel the steering wheel . . . Please, I've always wanted to know what it's like to be behind the wheel of one of these babies," Sakura pleaded, suddenly reminded of one of her life long goals. The steering wheel looked so inviting she couldn't help herself. Sasori smirked, a splendid idea―for him—forming in his calculating head.

"Sure, here," And he leaned forward to wind his arms around the petite waist of the very confused girl, unsure of what exactly the red-head was doing, and if she should scream or not. He swiftly lifted her onto his lap in one fluid easy movement, she was so light, he could have laughed. Sakura, presently residing on Sasori's lap, felt her face become inflamed, her hands forming fists as she embarrassedly squinted her eyes shut, not sure how to react, but perfectly sure she was embarrassed beyond belief. God, she must be heavy.

Sasori, on the other hand was on the whole other end of the emotional spectrum, his self-restraint was becoming something he couldn't― or rather, no longer wanted to—control. Her face was so delectably adorable, crimson cherry colored in all her fluster and her lips were pouted in such a way, that they almost appeared to be inviting him. And he raised his hand to her neck, cupping around the slender thing, tugging her towards his face, causing their lips to brush, before full on colliding, and all thoughts of self-restraint vanished without a trace. The explosion of exquisite flavors that met his tongue, was nothing like he had ever even imagined anything would taste, it was so sharp and enticing―and addicting. He felt his other arm immediately lift to pull her closer engulfing himself in her very scent, her voice echoing in his ears and her image branded permanently in his mind, every one of his five senses was completely drugged with her and he _loved_ it.

"Mmmf!" Sakura, regaining control of her body, after the initial shock of the kiss, began struggling against his hold, alarmed and slightly miffed with the fact that this was her second involuntary kiss that day. When, abruptly their lips parted, she gasped for fresh air that didn't taste every bit Sasori, before narrowing green eyes at him, brushing off the haze that clouded her mind, "Sasori! I'm gonna be late, and then in trouble if you don't let me out." She had a way of avoiding a strange kiss with a direct change of subject. She'd done so with Kakashi and Naruto, brushing their kiss off as if it had never occurred.

She scowled at Sasori, indicating with a flick of her head to the passenger door. Sasori, looking all the image of a high drug addict, merely nodded with a dazed smile. Soon his own door was rising, and allowing a cold breeze to blow into the car, chilling Sakura and causing her body to ache for the warmth that only a heater or another human body could produce, but she shoved away the desire, and jerked out of the car.

"I'll be waiting here." Sasori's distant voice murmured, as he closed the door after her, remaining stationary in his car, but keeping a hawk's eye on her. Sakura nodded, a light pink smudge of a blush on her face at his euphoric expression, adjusting Naruto's jacket, she set out for the aforementioned fifty story building.

Women followed her slight form with wide eyes, as she stepped, attempting to elude the ice clumps on the slab of concrete, otherwise known as the parking lot. She presumed, the stares were on the basis that she had recently exited a very expensive looking car, they all most likely believed she was some super rich lady or something. The prospect was laughable, as Sakura thought about just how wrong that assumption was, she was the complete opposite of anything remotely wealthy.

As she walked, Sakura couldn't help but note the cold was slightly more bearable than before, but that was probably because she was wearing more proper winter clothes, instead of a thin sweater. She should dress like this more often.

When she reared towards the building, it was much more tall and foreboding than when viewed from the outskirts of the parking lot. Sakura saw, with a smile, that the women weren't littering the outdoors, and there wasn't any horrendously long line stretching for miles either, which could only mean one thing. They were allowing the women to enter the building instead of having them scattered about the grounds like dry leaves in the fall. A particularly large group of women giggled as they passed by her, she wasn't sure why―but she had a fairly accurate idea.

She filed through the pristine glass doors, with intricate designs swirling in their clear depths, passing uncomfortably by the stoic policemen who seemed unfazed by her emerald eyed gaze. Fortunately, this Deidara person, had _some_ common sense, seeing as how the building wasn't iced over with frost lining the air vents, like _some_ millionaires.

"Okay! Women! Deidara has yet to arrive, so he has given you all permission to wander the building for an hour while you wait for him, understand?" A tall, stiff cardboard-cut-out like man hollered above the staccato of women's high pitched squeals and exclamations. Sakura could literally _feel_ the excitement radiating off of the enormously huge entrance of the company. Surrounded by so much ecstatic energy, Sakura couldn't help the might bit of anticipation seep through her skin. Exploring a million-dollar company wasn't the _worst_ way to spend your free time.

"You're all free to roam in any of the offices on any of the floors. All the doors are unlocked, and all of the employees are off today. Be aware of the police officers stationed on every floor. And yes, that _is_ a warning. Steal anything, even a _pen,_ and you'll be out of here before you can even _blink_." There was an assembled cringe, as the stiff man, as he came to be known in Sakura's mind, bared down on them with a glare that could put even Itachi's to shame. Probably.

"Alright, off with you then," He dismissed off-handedly, glancing at his watch, aching for his shift with Deidara's psychotic fangirls to be over and done with. He hadn't foreseen the adrenaline rush the legion of women would have, as they stampeded across the pristine, white marble floor, all eager to explore the wondrously exotic place, that was Deidara's "_artful_" company, so called for its major production of art materials, the main material being clay. Deidara's personal favorite.

"EEYAH!"

Sakura was the only woman remaining when the initial shock wore off, and the stiff man regained control of his befuddled senses. She stood there, arms hanging limply at her sides, and mouth agape, in complete and utter astonishment at the speed females could reach when faced with the man of their dreams. She had attended seven interviews prior to the current, and she still wasn't used to the overall rush of the whole ordeal. Sometimes—and Sakura hated to admit so―the pinkette could hardly grasp or even begin to comprehend the unusual tendencies of her own gender. Alas, women were peculiar creatures. Even to themselves.

"Hey? Something wrong, you're not moving," Stiff man inquired rather rudely, bluntly staring at her, as if she were some sort of mentally impaired woman. She narrowed icy green eyes in his direction and he raised an eyebrow, not at all intimidated, it was like being threatened by a kitten.

"I'm fine." And she pivoted on the heel of her boot, heading in the opposite direction the hordes of women had gone, where a hallway was. Public restrooms were strategically placed along this hallway, along with a monitor hanging on the wall, a phone on the hook beside it, it's coiling wire, connecting with screen. Sakura brushed off the strange electronic device as something of futuristic capabilities, that most likely cost much too much to fondle around with. More prudent to just stick with the cell phone sitting comfortably in her pocket.

Sakura pushed open the white wooden door marked 'WOMEN', and stepped over to the gray marble counter, sliding her bottom up onto it, between two bowl shaped sinks. She leaned her back against the vastly huge mirror, and reviewed her plan in her mind, checking for any holes or mistakes. Since she had already marred the plan, by accidentally forgetting to blend in with the crowd—by means of frantically hustling along with the other overexcited females, she had to quickly rearrange her scheme, to accommodate such a mistake. Earlier when she was in Sasori's car, while externally admiring the beauty of the interior of the car, internally, she was devising a plot to get out of this interview alive and un-sought after by another man.

As she thought this over, her phone began vibrating violently in the pocket of Naruto's jacket and she nearly crashed to the tile floor in surprise―that of which would have surely fatally injured her, causing her to miss the interview and. . . Actually, that wasn't a half bad idea . . . Abruptly her phone shook, bringing her out of her possibly insane, cynical thoughts. Quickly, she flipped the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sakura. Been a while, huh? I got you're number from Naruto. Forcefully, might I add," Kakashi's joyous voice echoed from the opposite line, thoroughly bewildering Sakura. So, she supposed he was not in the wrong when he said they hadn't spoken in a quite a while, his voice was a sound she hadn't heard in so long, it momentarily dumbfounded her.

"Uh, hi Kakashi. Why're you calling me?" She queried, surprised to find herself sort of pleased to hear from the older man again. She sated her inner suspicion, with the justification that he was the first millionaire she met, and her first suitor, meaning she knew him the longest out of all the romancing, possessive men she had been currently thrown at the past January week.

"What? Can't I speak with my favorite woman every once in a while without my motives being questioned?" He replied, teasingly, before adding more seriously, "So, who's interview are you at today?" Sakura gulped at the obviously covetous tone of his voice, along with a hint of possessive ire.

"Er, well, actually I'm in a restroom right now, so technically I'm not at anyone's _interview_," She muttered, not at all seriously expecting him to drop the subject at that, and—as predicted―he didn't.

"Sakura, I find it erotic that you're speaking with me in the women's restroom, but that specific restroom must be in someone's company, and I'd love for you to tell me who the lucky bastard is." Sakura's face reddened, at the earlier of the comment, before sighing in resignation.

"He's just some guy named Deidara, and don't mind me. I have a plan to get out of this one, _without_ a millionaire attached, or rather, I _did_. But I think . . ." Her voice dissolved, fading in volume, until it was no longer making sound, she almost lost grip on the phone at the sight before her, the girl opposite her, stood just as astonished, her ice blue eyes wide.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's concerned voice could be heard even by the ears of the black haired woman by the door. Sakura blinked, Kakashi's voice bringing her out of her momentary stupor, she violently shook her head, pink tresses flailing around her face, to clear her mind of illusions. When her green eyes refocused, the surprisingly familiar girl was still standing there, frozen in her shock.

"Uh, I'll call you back Kakashi. . ." And she ended the call before Kakashi could protest. "M-Miruki? What are-"

"What are _you_ doing here?" The short, high school-esque girl interrupted, jabbing an accusing finger in Sakura's direction. It was the small girl from Neji's interview, of course, with the lack of pigtails and school uniform dress, she was quite hard to recognize, now adorning a very risqué outfit, consisting of a very short, very revealing black mini skirt with a suggestively low v-necked shirt, leaving little to the imagination.

"I'm attending the interview, what does it look like? And anyway, that's what I should be asking _you_. Weren't you at Neji's interview?" Sakura asked suspiciously, pushing off of the counter and stepping over to the much slighter female. Miruki narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms and tilting at the hip ever so slightly, taking on the appearance of a particularly snobbish girl, with a holier-than-thou attitude. Despite the animosity flaring in her wide eyes, she wasn't very intimidating.

"You have no right to say anything to me! I clearly remember you from Neji's interview, I also vaguely remember him _choosing_ you, so what the hell are you doing hanging around at another interview. Are you some whore?" Miruki bit out, a taunting smirk growing on her petite, heart shaped face. Sakura looked taken aback, as she watched the little girl with incredulous eyes. So, this tiny female wasn't a nice, cute girl after all? And did she just insult her? Narrowing her green orbs, Sakura crossed her arms, the expression of a woman who had just been insulted by the woman her husband was having an affair with, gleaming on her face. _That_ wasn't the greatest expression to be pit against.

"Who are you to judge when you have no earthly idea of the circumstances, you little snot-nosed brat?" Sakura snarled, she didn't take kindly to being insulted by a puny wannabe woman and she wasn't about to let it slide. Miruki's scowl intensified, and she looked about ready to pounce on Sakura's taller form.

"_Snot-nosed what?! _You bitch! I ought to have you sued for all your worth, you pink haired slut! My daddy's a top competitor with these people," And she made a sweeping gesture with her hand, "He could have you in the poorhouse before you can even say, 'No!'" Miruki hissed, lashing out like an angered baby panda. But before Sakura could make a rather nasty retort, footsteps were heard. Along with suspicious voices. Guards, most likely, the supposed stationary police, prepared to throw you out before you can even blink. That wasn't good. If Sakura got caught quarreling needlessly with another contestant, she would certainly get dismissed. And if that were to happen, then Deidara will have never met her and Ino would tell Tsunade she hadn't upheld her end of the deal and then her adoptive mother would be forced to revoke her living privileges. And then she would die.

"Ugh," Miruki grunted, returning her feral gaze back to Sakura, and before the pinkette could react, she reached a hand forward and grasped a well portioned chunk of silky pink hair. With a petulant 'hmph!' she wrenched downward, and Sakura had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying out, as she felt the roots being overpowered as strands were ripped violently from her scalp. "That's for insulting me, you bitch." Sakura heard Miruki hiss mercilessly, before releasing her locks and dashing out the door to escape the guards. Unbeknownst to her, the guards had realized they were indeed of the male variety and therefore could not enter the women's restrooms, and so had returned to their posts with lethargic steps.

Moments passed in the empty public restroom, before Sakura finally dubbed it safe and risk-free. She growled inwardly, rubbing her injured scalp with her palm and glancing at the shimmering pink strands that now lay useless on the tile, with fury. "What a bitch! I can't believe I ever thought _that thing_ was cute!"

After adjusting her mussy hair back into straight submission, Sakura gingerly stepped out the bathroom door, a look of pure ire marring her face as she walked with a furious force in her step. Reentering the main circle she was in before she had left for the bathroom, in dire need of getting away from stiff man, who was still positioned exactly where she had left him. He was staring stonily at the wall across the vast expanse of marble from him, seemingly unfazed by the constant flow of women, who had returned to the bottom floor to further expand their exploring expedition. Sakura pondered what to do to pass the time, for a moment, before settling on going back to her 'follow the crowd' plan and heading over to the stairwell, which was barren of any human existence, no girls not even a single officer was stationed at the doorway. She presumed, the women had opted for the elevator which was least likely to make them sweat, Deidara must have known that and hadn't bothered with guards.

"So, then this is unexplored territory," Sakura concluded, with a childish smile that would have melted her mens' hearts. At the thought of being alone, Sakura pulled the door open and stepped into a dank, dimly lit stairwell, and with an eager glance up, Sakura was mesmerized by the never ending spiral that appeared to spin for miles, up into the heart of the skyscraper she currently resided. To her right, was a plain, simple beige colored door, so perfectly normal it was slightly suspicious in such fancy company. Of course, it wasn't mysterious enough to draw anymore than a glance out of Sakura, as the pinkette brushed it off as a janitor's closet.

She was just about to climb the stairs, when a sudden crackling sound burst from behind the door. It sounded somewhat like a firecracker, and Sakura had to clutch her chest to keep from squeaking in fear at the sudden outburst. Cautiously, she headed back over to the door and noticed upon closer inspection of the so-called plain door, Sakura was startled to see a faint glow along the bottom where a gap allowed for light from the inside to filter out.

"Huh." Carefully, she stepped forward, suddenly finding herself a little nervous at the prospect of opening a suspicious door in an empty stairwell, with no officers near by. And abruptly, Sakura's imagination began to run wild, coming up with all kinds of things that could be behind that door. But she shook her head vigorously, hellbent on finding out what was behind that creepy hunk of wood, besides, she was still excessively pissed off at that Miruki brat, and she needed something to distract her. A mysterious, and possibly dangerous room, was perfect for that needed attention diverter.

Inhaling deeply, Sakura was sure to feel her lungs expand before grasping the doorknob and twisting it. What Sakura saw in that room was nothing akin to what her raving imagination had come up with. The room, if you could really even call it such, was no bigger than a typical closet, and in the closet of sorts was a groggy blonde haired guy with a clay bird in his hands, which promptly exploded into clay bits upon her arrival. He was leaning against the left wall, his right visible eye was closed before he was jostled awake by the sound of the explosion and the little blobs of wet clay that had sprung onto his face.

"Ah! Oh, crap! I fell asleep, yeah," He murmured, as Sakura took a step back and he fumbled out of the cramped space. "Jeez, it's _freezing_ in that freaking closet. I should have brought a jacket or something . . . Oh! Hi, sorry but I need to borrow your pockets, my hands are about to become Popsicles if I don't, yeah!" He announced, grinning at her, the right eye crinkling, his left eye covered by a portion of vibrant blonde hair. Sakura raised an eyebrow. This man looked _a lot_ like Ino.

Before Sakura could ask what he meant about his recent words, the guy thrust his hands into her jacket pockets, standing rather invadingly close to her. Sakura's face flamed red, and she jerked her head to the side to avoid touching their noses together they were so near each other.

"Uh, do you mind?" Sakura muttered, attempting to ignore the curious expression the man was directing her way.

"Not in the least, yeah. Hey, you're pretty cute," The blonde guy inquired, hands still placed comfortably in her pockets and face still awkwardly close. Sakura stumbled backwards, inwardly wishing that she had never opened that damned door. It was so unfair! Who the hell was this guy, anyway?!

"Okay! Time's up, get your hands out of my pockets and just who in the world are you?" Sakura growled, grabbing his arms, skillfully masking her surprise at the muscle underneath her fingertips, as she shoved him away from her and out of her personal bubble. He stumbled back, clearly taken by surprise and his blue eye widened staring at her incredulously.

"You- You don't know who I am?" The way he asked it, made it sound as if everyone knew who he was, and that it was some abomination that she didn't. Immediately, he grasped her shoulders and opened his mouth, preparing to tell her his name, which he was so sure would shock her into a coma—when suddenly: He stopped.

"You know, it doesn't matter who I am. Who're you?" Sakura, having cringed away from the strangeness of the man in front of her, lifted a thin pink eyebrow.

"Um. Sakura," She answered cautiously, her left hand in Naruto's jacket pocket, grasping her cell phone just in case the guy decided to do something Sakura deemed beneath the line of stranger physical contact. He was already pushing the limit. He grinned, immaturely at her, seemingly pleased with her reply to his previous question.

"Un, Sakura. . . It suits you, yeah," He stated, suddenly pulling a ball of clay out of thin air, and beginning to shape it in his hands, his full attention on her as she watched his hands move meticulously, as if they had minds of their own.

"Thanks. . . I think," She expressed her gratitude with as much conviction as she possibly could in her confused and discombobulated state of mind. The main thoughts that continuously shot through her mind, were usually something about the strange, good-looking guy in front of her, who kept smiling at her, as if he expected her to do something. His blue eye watching her closely, seemingly examining her or something. Strangely, under his intense gaze, she felt completely naked, completely exposed. It wasn't a pleasant feeling and she wanted nothing more than to leave that instant, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

He was curious about this cute little pink crème delight, as she tilted her head interestedly watching his hands meticulously mold the clay, something he'd been doing since boyhood. He could swear, he'd never seen such an artistically created human being. The way her body curved in all the places that mattered, and how no matter how she moved her surroundings seemed to implement to her overall artistic design. The strikingly pink hair only added on to her peculiar person, along with her lack of knowledge of himself, she was practically the embodiment of everything Deidara enjoyed, all packed into one intoxicatingly adorable girl. And he was finding her hard to resist, the longer he stayed in her presence.

"Woah . . . That's so cool, how'd you do that without looking?" Sakura queried, sincerely curious as to how the man could create something so detailed and realistic looking in mere minutes. The odd bird that sat, perched in still-life form, on his open palm was so unoriginally thought of, but so creatively executed into being that it was a beautiful work of art, produced in minutes. He had a pleased smile adorning his handsome face as she gawked like a child at his simple figure

"Practice makes perfect, yeah," He said lightly, holding the bird up so she could get a closer look.

"That's so elegant . . ." She complimented, inwardly wishing she could do something like that, she also wondered if possibly this man was an employee at the company. It was an art production based company, after all. He seemed to find her comment silly, because he chuckled.

"Don't be silly, sweet Sakura. The art has yet to show itself," His blue eye gleamed with an immature excitement, as he tossed the clay bird into the air. Sakura gasped, obviously startled by the sudden movement, and confused by why he had done so in the first place. "This is true art, yeah."

And the bird exploded in a shower of red, green and orange sparks that rained down on them before fading into nonexistence. Sakura's wide eyes turned back to him, the childish wonder absent from her face as she quirked an eyebrow. "Do _all_ your birds blow up?"

He grinned, gratified by her reaction. She didn't quite understand his pop-art, something he was _very _gratified with. Because it gave him an excuse to surround himself with thoughts of her. He took it upon himself to be sure that this precious work of art, learned her origins true meaning. Art was a blast, something short and instantaneous, only there for a second and gone the next. But for this odd, intriguing girl, he would make one exception. In surprise, he found himself strangely okay if this perfectly constructed piece of art, _didn't_ disappear.

"Yes. That is true art, here in a second, gone in a flash, yeah," He explained, deciding instantly―his decision regarding his new infatuation. But before he could tell his priceless art, his actual name, a series of screams echoed from the entrance on the first floor, it was obvious from the gushes afterwards, that the screeches weren't out of fear. Hurriedly, Sakura pivoted around, pink hair swirling around her face, as she pulled the door open in her rush towards the squeals of delight, where Deidara was most likely to be poised. The blonde guy jumped after her as she skidded to a halt on the marble floor, expecting to see some millionaire surrounded by throngs of women, throwing themselves at his feet. Instead her eyes were met with, not one, but _two_, millionaire's and they were both_ quite_ familiar. Kakashi and Sasori stood just barely in through the articulate doors.

"Where's Deidara?" Sasori questioned, amongst all the women who were astonished, albeit pleased to see the two other men, and they ogled them, not quite paying much heed to their questions. Sakura almost shouted at them for appearing without a warning, and causing such an earsplitting uproar. She wasn't sure where the hell that Deidara guy was, or if he had even shown yet, but nonetheless she fought and shoved and grappled her way through the drowning sea of women, until she finally reached the two men, who looked relieved to see her face.

"What the hell are you two doing here?!" Sakura had to holler the inquiry just so it could be heard over the screaming women, and even then it was hard to make out. Kakashi grinned, his face bare of any black mask, seeing as how he just intended to barge headstrong into the building, Sasori was only there because he had caught sight of the white haired man.

"I was worried about you! You sort of hung up on me!" He yelled, and Sakura rolled her eyes and crossing her arms. She didn't bother to shout her comment, Sasori and Kakashi could read it in her eyes, something along the vague lines of 'That still didn't give you guys the right to cause this aggravating riot!' They're interpretation was pretty accurate, and the avoided Sakura's eyes.

"Have you met Deidara yet?!" Sasori hollered, as the over dramatic women continued their never ending torrent of screeched and declarations of love to the two unexpected arrivals. Sakura shook her head vigorously in answer. And Sasori and Kakashi's faces were so relieved the pinkette turned away, her cheeks pink.

"SILENCE!"

The stiff man's command instantly silenced every sound in the room, even the insects outside froze in fright. The big man, gestured towards the humongous group of women. "EVERYONE OUT." His booming voice left no room for challenges as the women practically threw themselves at the front doors in absolute fear. When finally, all that remained was stiff man, Sakura, Sasori and Kakashi, another voice sounded.

"So, Sasori, Kakashi. You two know, Sakura, yeah?" The blonde guy from the stairwell, seemed to appear out of nowhere at Sakura's side, watching the two men with hostile curiosity. Kakashi and Sasori exchanged glances, before Kakashi jerked to face Sakura.

"Sakura, I thought you said you hadn't met Deidara."

The blonde was finding it hard to stand still and act as if nothing was on his mind, what with the familiar way Kakashi addressed his precious art work in progress. She was much to good for either Kakashi or Sasori—no _especially_, Sasori. This strange furling feeling, was festering in his chest, and he didn't like the way it felt. It became worse, when Sakura paid her full attention to Kakashi as if he himself weren't standing at he very side. What was this feeling called?

And somewhere in the far back of his mind a tiny, minuscule voice said, _'Jealousy_' and Deidara couldn't believe himself. He was jealous. For the first time in his life, he was jealous for a girl―No, wait. Not a girl, a work of beautiful art, that if cultivated and nurtured and kept at his side with his constant vigil, would become the most gorgeous art in the world. Now, he only had to keep her away from others. Kakashi placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder. Deidara didn't like it. He didn't like being jealous. And he didn't like other people touching _his_ Sakura.

"So, wait. You're telling me, _he's _Deidara?!" Sakura proclaimed, her green eyes growing wider than the moon as she gaped at Deidara. No way. Even after she had taken all the time to think out a perfectly strategic plan, she still got stuck with the guy in the end! Suddenly filled with unnecessary rage, Sakura felt the need to release it upon Deidara.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously, her fists clenching as she glared at Deidara, "THIS ISN'T FAIR! I WAS TRICKED BY YOU, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO DISGUISE YOURSELF AS A HOMELESS PERSON!"

Deidara stared at her blankly, only one word floating through his mind, _What_?

"MY LIFE SUCKS!" Sakura complained, finally feeling the fury fade away. Deidara grinned, at the absolute adorableness of the pinkette, unable to control himself he pounced on her from behind, wrapping his arms around her neck.

"Well, then my beautifully artistic Sakura, I choose you for the Contest," And he leaned forward, pressing his lips to her red cheek.

"DEIDARA! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

Sakura merely stood frozen in absolutely dreadful shock, as Sasori and Kakashi chased Deidara down the huge hallway like madmen.

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It's safe to say, my updates are slow. I know. It's just school pretty much. End of the year crap and all. So, I sincerely apologize (I'M SORRY!! T_T).

Hm. The majority of this chapter was written to the song Circus By Britney Spears and I never would have thought I'd ever like her music again. She is one emotional roller coaster. Awesome song, though.

Review. Please. I know it took forever (I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON)

red


	9. Suigetsu Hozuki

Meh. I have no _real_ excuse. Except that I had to write this on my mom's laptop. And, well, let's just say, my mom's stingy. She wouldn't share…

And I shall dedicate this chapter to (because apparently I'm doing that now…) **StormDragon666** and **Vesper Chan**. Who write brilliant stories and somehow find the time to enjoy mine. Sniffles. I'm so heartfelt.

Disclaimer: No. No. No.

I sort of/kind of apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I don't know, it just seems sort of lackluster…

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**Thirty One Men In Thirty One Days**

_-red, that's me_

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January 9  


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"Ugh… Why me?"

The simple fact that she was bored into near submission, didn't seem like enough of an excuse to get her out of doing volunteer work at her mother's tavern. At least not to Tsunade anyway. For Sakura it was a perfectly reasonable grounds for dismissal, seeing as how the bar was damn near empty. And, seriously, what did Tsunade expect? Who in their right mind would come to a bar that early in the morning? Then again, that was the most likely reason why she was the only one working.

Sakura allowed her head to rest uncomfortably on the gray, almost black, marble of the counter. It was awful enough she had to mine an empty pub, but on top of that frustrating fact, she had another mind-numbing interview to attend. One with a man, who's name escaped her at the moment, but he was probably just as annoying and brain grating as the rest of them. Sakura snorted to herself—completely aware of the vacant-ness of the tavern and the fact that if anyone happened to come in at that moment, they would most likely think she had sincerely lost it—she thought, perhaps, every millionaire between the ages of twenty and thirty had some rulebook they must abide by, that started with how agitating they must—and she does mean _must_—be, to innocent, little, undeserving pink haired twenty-three year olds.

Kami, how she resented that rulebook. If it, in fact, _did_ exist.

Sakura felt a light zephyr of warm air, almost like a breath, waft over her exposed face and would have sighed in content, if she wasn't so tightly strung. What with working for free and having another interview with a most likely pompous man she couldn't care less about… She got exhausted just thinking about it.

Deep in her ever mounting apathy, Sakura found herself slipping into a partial sleep-like state, her eyes and ears closed to movement or sound, but her mind still racing with irksome thoughts.

Of course, this state of mind had its perks, at least, she wasn't as dreadfully bored as she had previously been, but its downsides were also sizeable. Such as, the fact that she didn't hear the tinkling of the tiny brass bell placed meticulously at the top of the entrance to the tavern, signaling the arrival of a potential customer. Or the ceremonious sound of shoe against wood, the sound of footsteps as they came towards her. Or the shuffling of an expensive suit as said human—who made the obvious, but unheard, noises that should have alerted the half-asleep Sakura to his appearance, but, of course, did not—leaned against the bar, directly adjacent to where her head lay, burrowed in the fortress that was her arms.

Poor Sakura wasn't conscious of his presence, until he bent down, his lips to her ear, and blew. Blew a light, gust of hot breath into the canal of her ear. "AGH!" Sakura squealed, quite uncharacteristically, her head instantly shooting up, and her hand flying to her assaulted ear, clearly confused and affronted at the previously ministrated action. Green baffled eyes met with narrowed and amused crimson ones, as her frantic brain tried to process the man before her.

"Why hello, Sakura." His voice was velvety smooth and lined with regalement, as he stood facing her, a delighted smirk flowing across his devilishly handsome face. Sakura quirked a pink eyebrow, her arms crossing as the disorientation from earlier melted away from her gaze and her eyes set against his, silently questioning his presence.

"Itachi? What are you doing here?" She inquired, and while in wonderment as to why he was at her mother's bar, she was also fully aware that she didn't particularly like this man, and her thoughts went from slightly miffed about the situation, to full blown irritation at the sight of him, not only because she simply disliked him—what with the kissing and licking and such—but because he was one of the very millionaires she was complaining about earlier.

"I just happened to be passing by. But that's beside the point, how are you?" He asked, as if their meeting was completely and totally a regular occurrence, as if he hadn't not seen her in three days. As if he hadn't yearned to hear her voice, and see her face. As if he hadn't just reveled at the sound of his name falling from her lips. No, of course he hadn't missed her.

"…I'm fine. So, you can go now," Sakura muttered, deadpanned. Itachi's pleased smirk grew wider, and he turned to tug a wooden stool over towards them, and position himself on it.

"Sakura, love, I'm a customer. You shouldn't treat customers so rudely," He chided, finding her expression of annoyance thoroughly enrapturing, the dim lighting over their heads illuminating her face, and practically begging him to place his hand against her cheek.

"Fine, if you're a customer, then what do you want?" Sakura murmured, finding her exasperation meter growing fuller by the second. Seriously, what were the odds of the man _just happening to pass by? _He was one of the richest men in Japan, if he wanted a drink, he could just order it from the luxury room service at his penthouse without lifting a finger. Or something like that.

"What do I want? Well, you, of course," Itachi said as if this were the most obvious answer in the world, when, it _obviously_ wasn't. When he saw Sakura's narrowing eyes, and her twitching cheek muscle, he smirked again. "What? It's true." Sakura swore if they weren't in a public area, she would slaughter the guy. Unfortunately, they were, so she settled for taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the nagging blush that threatened to travel farther than just her neck, where it currently glowed.

"What do you want to _drink_?" She hissed, nibbling her tongue in agitation. He moved to rest his cheek against his hand, glancing around the many shelves of alcohol that sat behind Sakura, but found his eyes continuously drawn to the girl's petite form as she glared at him. Ah, it was true. He wanted her more than any of the many bottles that lined the wall. She gave him a buzz that no drink could outclass, a buzz that he very much enjoyed.

"I'll settle for a glass of water, Sakura," Itachi mumbled, his wandering eyes stopping fully on Sakura's un-lipsticked lips, the feel of them pressed against his coming back in full force, the same memory that had continually replayed in his head the days she was absent from his sight. Constantly reminding him of the delicious taste that he couldn't have. Not yet. The first thing in his life, that wasn't his. Which was thoroughly infuriating, especially when it came to other men who thought they had the right to touch what would surely belong to him. He grimaced at the prospect.

"Thank you," Sakura said non to kindly, before pivoting around and grabbing a glass to fill with the clear liquid requested. Itachi watched her hawkishly, suddenly overcome with the need to engulf her in his arms and reassure himself of the fact that she, indeed, belonged to him, or at least, soon would. And sure enough, when Sakura returned to her previous spot, and placed the glass down onto the counter, her left ear twitching at the familiar _clink_ of glass against marble, Itachi abruptly rose to his feet, his hand holding her chin, and inclining her face to his, as he captured her lips.

He could moan, the flavor that immediately met his taste buds, was almost more than he could bear, it felt so _good_ to have her lips pressed to his again. Felt so _right_, as if she were _made_ to belong to him. His tongue instantly moved to glide along her bottom lip, as he relished in the scent that encompassed him, and deluded his senses. At that point, he yearned for nothing more than for her to kiss back. The hand that wasn't holding her chin shifting to her back to pull her closer to his body, of course, the bar was still very much there, and still very much between the two.

With a growl of irritation—a growl that vibrated Sakura's lips and left them tingling—he released her face to wind both of his arms around her waist, and effortlessly lift her over the marble bar, knocking the glass of water onto it's side in the process. She was so much lighter than he had thought.

She squeaked against his lips, and he smirked at the feeling, before instantly tugging her to his chest, the kiss still very much intact. Though, she had yet to allow him entrance to her enticing mouth.

Sakura felt as if she were completely paralyzed from the neck down, which was extremely inconvenient, since she was being mouth-raped by Itachi Uchiha. _Again_. Her hands lay useless at her sides, and her legs hung over the edge of the bar, her knees pressed against Itachi's waist, completely motionless. But before she could open her mouth and allow him access, in order to bite his tongue, their lips parted and his smirking face gleamed pleasedly down at her. His arms around her tightening, as she glared into his eyes, before blinking in slight confusion, at the needy expression that shimmered just beneath his smirk. But before she could ask him why he looked so covetous, because Sakura was oblivious to all thing lust related, the door to the tavern was violently thrown open and a voluptuous woman came stampeding in.

"Hah! I knew I'd find you here! …Though I didn't expect to find _you_ here," Ino's voice rang throughout the empty pub, and reverberated off the wooden walls. Sakura's eyes widened, and she suddenly felt the blood begin to score through her dry veins once more, and she immediately jerked away from Itachi, embarrassed to be caught by Ino of all people in such a suggestive position. When she glanced up at Itachi, she could see his annoyed expression, as he turned, his arms still very much wrapped around Sakura's small form, though there was now more distance between their bodies.

"Yes, well. I _wish_ _you_ weren't here," Itachi muttered, loudly enough for Ino to hear, and the blonde narrowed her blue eyes, glaring at him. Her winter dress flaring out like a halo around her legs, said blonde stomped her way over to the two, the same angry pout on her face.

"And what do you think you're doing to Sakura?" Ino queried, a suspicious tone laced in her words, not that it wasn't obvious what had been going on only moments ago, but she thought she'd ask anyway. Itachi pulled up the corner of his mouth in a grimace, attempting to pull Sakura close to his chest, not quite expecting to feel her hands there as she shoved in the opposite direction.

"I was merely kissing her. I can do that, you know, since she's going to be my wife soon," The Uchiha said airily, as if Sakura _hadn't_ just bruised his ribs, thrashing in her need to escape. Ino raised her eyebrow at the scene before her.

"Itachi. Just let her go, it's obvious she's trying to escape," The super model said with a sigh. Sakura paused in her silent attempt at freedom.

"Ino, are you here to take me to an interview?" She asked, looking petrified. Itachi, noticing her expression and allowed a smirk to spread across his face, using his strength, he tugged Sakura to his side, sliding her off the counter.

"Sorry, but I really don't think it was me she was trying to escape from," Itachi remarked snidely, leaning his head leisurely on top of Sakura's, trying his hardest not to close his eyes and bask in the soft feel of her hair beneath his cheek.

"Shut-up, Itachi. Sakura, your next interview is with a man named Suigetsu Hozuki; I think I told you that already. Now, come on, he's having it at the water park in Yomiuri Land! We need to get you a swimsuit!" Ino's eyes were alight with anticipation as she licked her lips like a starved lion. Sakura cringed, at the sight and at the thought of going to a water park in the middle of January. Seriously, who did that?

"Suigetsu? Never heard of him… Are you sure that's his name?" Itachi questioned, eyebrow quirked in thought. Ino scowled a vicious scowl in his direction, finding her own self becoming very irked with the many pompous millionaires chasing after Sakura's affections. Of course, she would never admit that, because it was all her fault in the first place. It would be like admitting defeat.

"Yes that's his name. Now, let Sakura go so she can change into this bathing suit I got her," Ino demanded, pulling a white bikini from the designer bag thrown over her shoulder. Sakura gawked at the size of the swimsuit and how much exposure that would lead to, a red stain crossing the bridge of her nose at the thought of being caught dead in the get up. She gulped.

Naturally, Itachi was on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum as most men were when it came to Sakura. Conflicting feelings clashed in his mind, at the thought of his Sakura wearing something like what he saw before him in public for a man he couldn't even remember the name of. On one hand, the idea of Sakura unveiling that much skin would be at the very least _appealing_. On the other hand, he wouldn't be the only one to see her like that, which undoubtedly meant that _other _men would lay lecherous eyes on what was obviously his. So, he wanted to see Sakura in one of the most revealing suits one could ever display to the general population's eyes, but he _didn't_ want to see Sakura in one of the most revealing suits one could ever display to the general population's eyes… Did that make him a hypocrite?

"Will you two stop gaping at it like that; I wore this suit five years ago to my pool party. _Nobody _could take their eyes off me," Ino gloated haughtily, a smirk across her pale face as she gleamed at the suit she held.

"_Ino! _If I were to _ever_ wear anything as _remotely_ as exposing as that is, I would be labeled as a slut faster than you could say raging hormones. Because I'll tell you that was the _only_ reason all those men were leering at you when you wore that," Sakura hissed, emerald eyes narrowed seemingly forgetting the fact that she was still wrapped up in Itachi's hold. But that seemed a far more distant problem at the moment. What she was truly dreading was that suit.

Ino sighed, a sigh filled with serious malcontent, before stuffing the bathing suit back into her bag. "I sort of thought you'd say that… So I brought yours from your apartment, just in case. Though, I'd much rather you wear mine…" And she removed a different swimsuit that was much less indecent than the first, causing Sakura's eyes to glow alight with relief. Ino grinned at Sakura's pleased expression, before handing her the red and pink suit and indicating to women's restrooms off to the right of the bar with a nod.

As Itachi released her, Sakura dashed in the direction of the restrooms, very much pleased with the idea of wearing her own bathing suit and not some horribly whore-ish one. It made her feel just a slight bit happier, despite the fact that she was going to have to be attending another interview.

Ino eyed Sakura as she disappeared through the dark brown door, with _WOMEN_ engraved into it, before pivoting on her heel to narrow icy blue eyes in Itachi's direction. "As for _you_, I'll call someone else to take her. You've had enough of your Sakura bonding time, you little monger. Jeez, if I'd known millionaires were so clingy I wouldn't have signed her up for all the interviews… Oh, well. Too late now," Ino muttered the last bit to herself, as she flipped open her cell and cycled through her address book, in search of a suitable man to escort Sakura to Suigetsu's interview at Yomiuri Land. Itachi grimaced, not at all pleased with being called _clingy_. Itachi Uchiha, of all people, was most definitely _not_ clingy. He was just …protective. Yes. _Protective._

"Ah! Gaara will work." Ino smiled in Itachi's direction, as she held the already ringing phone to her ear. "Hello, Gaara-kun! I was just calling to- … Yes, I know you're busy, now, shut-up and listen to me. Sakura needs a ride to Yomiuri Land Water Park for an interview with Suigetsu Hozuki. Would you like to- … Oh, good! Then come pick her up at her mother's bar. I'm sure you know- … Alright then, see you soon!" Ino flicked her wrist and the phone flipped shut. Itachi was watching her through slitted eyes, a frown clearly evident on his face, because he was _clearly_ not pleased. He truly and sincerely abhorred this blonde woman who seemed hell bent on keeping him separated from his Sakura. Though, he supposed he couldn't completely blame her, since if it weren't for her he and Sakura would have never met. But then, if it weren't for her, Gaara wouldn't have met Sakura and foolishly try to lay claim to her. Itachi snorted, either way one looks at it, Ino's still a complete and total bitch.

"It _is_ okay if I keep my clothes on over this for now, right?" Sakura queried, peeking from around the marble bar, appearing in the very same dress she had exited in. Ino simply nodded, before skipping over and lifting Sakura's red sweater to be sure she had indeed actually put the swimsuit on. And indeed, the top was clearly visible as Sakura's face glowed red, at the sudden gust of cool air that flew over her exposed stomach, and the crimson eyes of the man standing not five feet away, who now had a perfectly unobstructed view of very much of her pale skin.

"Okay, okay!" Sakura growled indignantly, abruptly jerking her sweater down to her waist and glaring heatedly at her blonde companion. Ino shrugged with a careless grin, turning her gaze to her manicured nails to be sure that they hadn't chipped when they were violently ripped away from the cashmere of Sakura's clothing.

"Now, Sakura, Gaara's on his way to come and take you to Yomiuri. And before you ask why I can't drop you off, it's because I have a very important photo shoot with Gigandi and if I miss it, I'll never get my picture into the-"

"No one cares," Itachi muttered, having taken to Sakura's side. Ino hissed at the interruption and crossed her arms contemptuously, her nose in the air. Sakura wasn't at all surprised by Itachi's uncouth remarks. After all, she was used to his abusive sarcasm. She couldn't quite understand where the reporters were coming from when they described the older Uchiha as a calm and polite man. Obviously they had never seen him communicate with Ino. The anger, irritation and contempt that emanated off him, was only slightly sated by his pleasure at standing so close to her. Of course, Sakura wasn't aware of that fact.

Ino opened her mouth to say something that most likely had very little relevance to the overall situation, but she stopped herself when she heard the light droning sound, akin to a buzz coming from outside the bar. A noise that was commonly heard when a large group of people were near. "Er, do you guys hear that?" The blonde questioned surreptitiously, glancing over her shoulder to cast a covert glance at the front entrance. Her blue eyes widened when a red-haired man stepped through, looking very disgruntled and irritated in appearance as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Gaara?"

Said red-haired, disgruntled, irritated man glanced up at the sound of his name, before pivoting around to twist the lock on the door behind him. "Ah, yeah. It's me. Apparently, the paparazzi have memorized my license plate number, and I was followed here," He explained half-heartedly, his hand to his fiery spikes in agitation at the mere prospect of having to attempt to get out of the building in one, unadulterated piece. As he dreaded the thought of exiting the tavern, his sea foam eyes roving the small interior of such building absently, he realized he was indeed in the company of three other people. One of which, was a very important person and his eyes rested on her.

Sakura gulped at the sudden attention, as Gaara stared at her seemingly lost in his own muddled thoughts momentarily, the thick black rings that rimmed the outer curves of his eyes, only pronouncing the green pupils inside even more so, creating an empty, blank affect. Sakura fidgeted, unnerved and slightly nervous at the red-head's constant, unwavering gaze, it was almost blush inducing and she glanced away, attempting to avoid his eyes.

Itachi narrowed his own eyes in obvious suspicion, at the sight that played out before him. At Sakura's reddened face, red in embarrassment, at Gaara's awed stare, awed and pleased at finally being able to see Sakura once more. As expected Itachi didn't like this scene. He didn't like it at _all_. So, in his _dire _need to interrupt the little reunion, he did what any millionaire his age would have done if their Sakura was getting eyed by another, _lesser_, millionaire.

"Just what the hell are you looking at?" Itachi hissed through clenched teeth, immediately taking the initiative and placidly placing himself between Sakura and Gaara, shielding her from the tanuki-look-alike. Well, maybe other millionaires would have been a bit more subtle, but really. This was _Sakura_ we're talking about. Millionaires tended to get slightly immature when she's involved.

"What am I looking at? I'm looking at _my_ Sakura. Now, move." Gaara's face was impassive, but even Naruto could have sensed the lethal aura that radiated off of him in waves, unfortunately, Naruto was not there, which only left Itachi to brave the murderous rage that was undoubtedly being directed at him, alone. Ino stood meters to the side of the two men's glaring contest, and wasn't very amused at being completely ignored as if she were an insect, not even worth a minor glance.

"Ahem! I know you guys like to get all, 'Sakura's MINE, bastard!' and stuff. But, Sakura's gonna be late if she and Gaara don't hurry their asses out of here!" The blonde super model growled; her blue eyes alight with furious rage, as she scowled from millionaire to millionaire. Itachi spared her an annoyed glance, before spinning on his heel to face Sakura, who was still standing stationary behind him at loss as to what to do in situation such as the one before her.

Sakura gazed up at the older Uchiha, and realized with ill disguised contempt that said man was much, much taller than her. She only stood to the middle of his chest, _barely_. He smirked down at her when he realized she was pouting, and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Then, since you are leaving to attend an interview, I get a goodbye kiss." Ah, such effeminate words with such an impassive face, Sakura thought absently, not at all processing what Itachi had actually said. Or not realizing the particular meaning of said words and how that would affect her and her lips. Though, Sakura was never quite paying enough attention, was she?

Of course, she did realize said meaning, when Itachi happily pressed his mouth to hers, innumerably pleasured at the taste of Sakura's lips once more. Taken by surprise, though she really shouldn't have been, she jerked away and her hand flew to her face. "How many times are you gonna violate me until you're satisfied?!" Sakura hollered, affronted, her teeth clenched as she dragged her lips across her sleeve to rid them of Itachi-germs.

"At least a million more times, Sakura-_chan_," Said germ inflicting man purred, seemingly drowning in Sakura related ecstasy. But before Sakura could reply with a disturbed and slightly embarrassed statement, Gaara was beside her, an extremely displeased expression marring his face, as he gripped her wrist in his hand and dragged her away from the older Uchiha.

Ino blinked at the scene, before sighing with a defeated air. As she watched Gaara tug Sakura towards the front door, where undoubtedly news reporters were in silenced waiting for the appearance of the millionaire and the alleged 'girl he was in love with' were located. Whoever started _that_ rumor was either very bored, very stupid, or a very good guesser. Ino scowled, not exactly excited at the prospect of having to shove through rabid reporters with Sakura in her arms… "Oh, hey! You guys can use my car. It's parked out back so it won't draw attention, you see because I'm _prepared-_"

"Shut-up, and give me the keys," Gaara demanded, holding out the hand that wasn't preoccupied with Sakura, his minimal patience levels already completely exhausted via Itachi, he wasn't in the mood to deal with an obnoxious super model who called herself Sakura's friend. Ino frowned, her blonde eyebrows furling and she 'hmphed', before tossing the keys to her silver Porsche at the red-haired man. Gaara caught them with ease, before shooting Itachi a glare and stuffing the keys into the pocket of his suit.

"Sakura, show me the door to the back," Gaara murmured, allowing Sakura to reluctantly lead him away, all the while being sure to keep himself securely between her and Itachi.

"I'll come by after the interview and pick you up Sakura," Itachi called after the two, taking pleasure in the aggravated look Gaara shot him over his shoulder, before following Sakura out the back door.

"I'm surprised you're so calm, Itachi," Ino said, flipping her hair over her shoulder, as the door closed behind Gaara. Itachi narrowed his red eyes, a scowl visibly apparent on his face.

"_Of course_ I'm not calm. It's your entire fault I'm not allowed to take my own Sakura anywhere. I'm _leaving_," He hissed, adjusting his suit coat and stalking to the front door, where the paparazzi were impatiently waiting.

"Wait, but where are you going?" Ino questioned, slightly taken aback by the amount of ire emanating off of the Uchiha. Itachi rolled his eyes, as if his destination were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm following them of course."

At the sight of Ino's car, Sakura couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. While a Porsche was indeed expensive, it was nothing compared to the other vehicles she had been seeing lately. After all them, the Porsche was approximately as significant as a rancid dump truck. Which wasn't very much.

"You seem let down," Gaara stated, climbing into the driver's seat, and jabbing the keys into the ignition, attempting his hardest to ignore the diamond with INO engraved into it, dangling from the key ring. Sakura, who was already positioned in the passenger's seat, merely shook her head in reply.

"Not really. I was just sort of looking forward to seeing your car, that's all…" The pinkette let her words trail away, wallowing in her own self pity. With her bottom lip jutting out in a pout, she was the image of a child who had just been neglected the candy she had anticipated. Gaara glanced at her, through the corner of his peripheral as he started the car, and pressed down on the acceleration pedal. She was still the adorable girl he had met three days ago at his company's main building. He wasn't sure why, but he had been anxious to see her again, and confirm that she was the same, that she was still happy and safe. He didn't like the feeling of being anxious. It made his thoughts wander, and his stomach clench and hands waver. Absently, Gaara decided that he would stick closer to Sakura from then on, so that he wouldn't have to feel _anxious_, he would let her out of his sight as little as possible.

_I was just sort of looking forward to seeing your car, that's all…_ Her words replayed in the crimson haired millionaire's head, as he turned the corner and drove by the paparazzi and his car in front of the tavern that belonged to Sakura's mother. So, she wanted to see his car? He frowned, what a strange thing to say to someone. Why would she ever want to see his car for? Unless, of course, she was curious about him. The corner of Gaara's lips quirked up in a hardly noticeable smirk. Somehow the thought warmed his insides.

"Mm, Gaara? What did that kanji on your forehead say?" Sakura murmured, her eyes half-lidded as she mindlessly pondered this question, vaguely recalling the red kanji tattooed on the man beside her's head, usually covered by the fringe of his bangs. Gaara cast her sidelong glance.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked cautiously, not at all comfortable with sharing the meaning of the kanji on his forehead with Sakura, he really didn't take pleasure in telling people that the word _love_ was forever written on his head, hence the long hair, grown to cover said tattoo. Sakura lifted her emerald eyes to face him, attempting to catch a glimpse of the kanji and reading it, without having to ask him again. If he didn't want to tell her, she wasn't going to force him, it wasn't that important anyway.

"I'm just curious," She replied, in answer to his previous question, her hands folded in her lap as she watched Gaara carefully. Said man couldn't stop the confusing elation that was currently bubbling in his chest. So she _was_ curious about him. That simple fact was enough to make his heart swell this way. Gaara frowned again; not at all able to comprehend the reasoning behind the happiness he was feeling. Oh well, no matter what the cause of it, he liked this feeling. This feeling of pleasure.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, unsatisfied with the scowl that had suddenly crossed over the redhead's face. When he still didn't answer her, she decided he wasn't comfortable with telling her, and she dropped the subject, opting, instead, for leaning against the leather seat and watching the scenery flash by out the window.

Gaara sighed, a breath the mixture between relief and exasperation. It seemed he had been too distracted by his own feelings, he had forgotten to answer Sakura's question about the kanji. Maybe it was for the better, though. Gaara hadn't wanted to tell her, anyway. "Sakura? Whose interview am I taking you to?" Of course, he knew already. Ino had told him. He just wanted Sakura to talk again; the silence was making him think to hard about irrelevant things. At his words, Sakura's head shot up, her eyes staring at him in surprise as if she had been in a sort of daze.

"Oh, um, Suigetsu Hozuki or something… I've never heard of him. But then again, I've never heard of a lot of you guys," Sakura admitted, accompanied with a careless shrug. "I wonder why I need my swimming suit. Mm, he's probably going to make us swim or something. That would suck…" Gaara blinked. Swimming suit? Suigetsu Hozuki was requiring all the girls attending his interview to wear swimming suits? Gaara tightened his grip around the steering wheel, as he felt the sudden need to seriously jerk the wheel around and head to a different destination. But no, he needed to take Sakura to the interview or Ino would most likely not let Sakura participate in the Contest, because it was quite obvious Sakura didn't really want to take part in it anyway. He clenched his teeth, felt them grind against each other, as he attempted to keep the vehicle on the right path to Yomiuri Land, where he was to drop her off. Of course, he would wait for her to leave and then bring her home. Because he would rather die then let Itachi get alone in a car with Sakura. God knows what that man would do to her. Well, actually, Gaara could guess, and he wasn't particularly pleased with what he envisioned.

"Oh, we're almost there," Sakura stated, indicating to the sign across the street from them at the intersection they had pulled to stop at, for the red traffic light. Across it, in big bold letters were the words: YOMIURI LAND with an arrow beside them pointing straight in the direction they were headed. Gaara couldn't help but feel slightly reluctant, as the light flashed to green and his foot pressed down on the acceleration. He wasn't quite ready to let Sakura out of sights, though, he wasn't sure he would ever be. He couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips, as he turned the curb and pulled into the huge parking lot that was Yomiuri's. Hundreds upon hundreds of cars lined the asphalt in rows and Gaara pulled in between two of them, as close to the park as he could physically get, but even that was several hundred feet away from the entrance.

"You know, in all the time I've lived in Tokyo, I've only been to Yomiuri Land twice. And both those times, I never went to the water park. I wonder what it looks like," Sakura inquired, her finger to her lip in obvious thought, her imagination conjuring the likes of which she believed the water park would resemble, based on other parks and pools she had seen in her life time. Gaara rotated the key in the ignition slot, and the low rumble of the engine died off, the air conditioning vents ceased blowing warm air over the two and the small lights behind the symbols went out like a flickering flame. Gaara turned to face the woman beside him, sitting still, momentarily lost in awe at her own imaginings; a childish look of excitement passing over what was usually a guarded expression.

She was so delectably cute; Gaara couldn't help but feel the need to kiss her. To place his lips to hers, and cleanse them of Itachi's contamination, to _taste_ her flavor on his tongue. Of course, this _need_ was a trivial impulse. But for some unknown reason, it was a trivial impulse that was impossible to ignore. And as Gaara lifted his hand to her chin and turned her face to his, and pressed his lips to hers, he couldn't help but inwardly muse that the impulse might not have been so trivial after all.

It was almost like an explosion on his taste buds, the insanely intoxicating flavor that met his tongue and enticed him to want more, forced him to want to ravage her then and there, in the passenger seat of his car. In most instances, Gaara hated being forced to want or do something. But he _loved_ this. He couldn't help the sudden forcefulness that found its way into his kiss, and he felt the barricade of her closed lips quiver in surprise, and he knew he was close to breaking through. Breaking through to where the _real _flavor was, where he was sure it would taste a _thousand_ times more addicting, if that was even possible.

Sakura's eyes widened, but she couldn't quite bring herself to feel completely astonished. After all, she had been getting kissed so much it was starting to lose the violating feeling that she should have been experiencing at that moment. Of course, she wasn't prepared for the lips that suddenly pushed against hers, but when was she ever? However, she did have a half a mind to mash her mouth tightly closed to keep him from gaining entrance, but it was starting to get exceedingly difficult.

Of course, her pathetic barrier was beginning to waver, and she squinted her eyes shut to try and block out what she was sure was coming. And before she knew it, though she knew it was coming, his tongue had slipped between her tightly squeezed lips and began tasting everywhere and everything as if in absolute _need_ to taste every last bit of her.

Gaara couldn't help it, he was in complete ecstasy and he reveled in it, the sensation of her tongue against his was nothing less than euphoric and she just tasted so damn _good_. Gaara lifted his hand to the back of her head, his fingers entangling themselves in her soft pink tresses, the silky strands tickling his skin and making him shiver with pleasure. He was so deep in his Sakura-induced euphoria that he felt like purring like a pleased kitten. And he did.

Did he just _purr?!_ Sakura couldn't help but think, as she fisted cloth in her hands, too stressed out to do much. Unfortunately for her, she didn't quite realize the cloth in her fists, which she had hoped was her own shirt, happened to be Gaara's and the feeling of her hands to his chest only made his kiss even more needy. Fortunately, she soon found the need to breath, for her own breath was shallow as she pulled it in through her nose, her lungs in dire need of bigger gulps of air than the ones she was dragging in. She was positive if her breath was running low, his must be damn near gone. And sure enough, Gaara separated their mouths, a bit of red dashing his cheeks. He sighed, his forehead pressing against hers as he took deep fulfilling breaths, though he would much rather be tasting her, instead, unfortunately for him, his lungs begged to differ.

He pulled in a ragged breath, before allowing a smirk to come across his reddened lips, his warm breath washing over her face. Sakura watched him with suspicious eyes as his own gleamed down at her with an almost playful look to them, the dark rings surrounding his eyes only adding to that shine. And then he opened his mouth.

"Sakura," He panted, and Sakura had to blush at the sensual way he had uttered her name. "The kanji on my forehead. It means _Love._" As he said this, an even larger smirk spread across his face, and he leaned forward for a quick quip of a kiss, barely capturing her lips for half a second. Sakura's face erupted into a sea of red that spread from her hairline to the base of her neck and she immediately jerked backwards, her sleeved arm to her mouth. She avoided his eyes glancing anywhere but him, before finding a suitable solution and shoving the car door open, dashing out with an embarrassed, "Bye!" tossed over her shoulder.

Sakura was quick to rush across the snow dappled concrete, as she passed a surplus of women migrating in the direction of the park entrance. Of course, the cold weather was as frigid as ever, but Naruto's jacket was a good combatant against such weather and Sakura was kept mildly warm, but she was again reminded of the fact that she was still indeed donning Naruto's jacket, and was, therefore, drawing attention to herself. She could even hear a few women whisper something, accompanied with a hushed giggle; of course, there was no way to tell if they were even talking about her, but she couldn't help but feel slightly paranoid.

As she neared the entrance, Sakura saw a short line of females, all waiting as the ticket man ushered them in. Inwardly, Sakura wondered if she would need to purchase a ticket to actually get in. If so, then she would probably just tell the man she was at loss for money and didn't have a ticket, and then promptly leave, telling Ino the same story. Even though she did have a twenty, which could easily cover three tickets and still have some left over for drinks and such.

As the woman in front of her entered the park, Sakura broke out of her stupor, and glanced up at the man with the visor on his head. As to why he had that on, when it was the middle of the winter, and there was hardly any sun to block out, Sakura would never know. He took one calculating look at her before nodding his head and sighing.

"You're here for Suigetsu Hozuki's interview, I take it?" He asked, crossing his arms. Sakura nodded mutely, curious as to what he was going to tell her. "Then you can go." And he waved her off. Sakura cursed silently, pouting. Darn, well there went her carefully calculated plan. As she stepped over to the second entrance, the one that led to the actual water park, she noticed that there was no one standing at this entrance, and she shrugged walking by, noting the emptiness of Yomiuri Land, the non-water park part of it anyway.

Following the crowd appeared to be the most intelligent choice of action, as Sakura felt herself shuffled forward along with all the other hundreds of women that were there. Sakura was sort of surprised that she wasn't as shocked as she normally was, to see so many women converging in one spot. And she presumed she was just beginning to get used to it, or something akin to that.

"Mm! I cannot _wait_ to get my hands on my Sui-kun!"

"Sui-kun's the _sexiest_! I can feel my insides melt the moment he walks in!"

"Sui-kun is the hottest man I have ever seen! And _I'm _gonna marry him!"

Sui-kun? Sakura inwardly wondered, curious as to if Suigetsu Hozuki _actually_ enjoyed being called that, and if he did, then he had never heard of _a man's pride_, had he? And by the words and shouts of the other women, Sakura just knew she was already coming up to a wall, a problem, because there was no way in _hell_ she was going to call the man _Sui-kun_, it may not hurt _his_ pride, but it was definitely a blow to hers.

"Women! Quiet down! I have something important to tell you all!" A tall burly man, who somewhat resembled Stiff Man from Deidara's interview, hollered over the high-pitched exclamations and declarations of the women.

And as the chatter died down to a silent hum, Sakura privately pondered why there was one of those types of men at _every_ interview she went to, one who shouts to the world and has to "secure the perimeter" when it comes to noise.

"The interview is being delayed!" Already, groans and squeals began to break out among the horde of women, and Sakura rolled her eyes. "But! It'll only be delayed an hour or so, so you all are allowed to enjoy the water park, while you wait!" Sakura cocked a pink eyebrow, and crossed her arms with caution; her eyes alight with suspicion. The same situation had occurred at Deidara's interview, when they had told the group of women, her included, that Deidara had yet to arrive, despite the fact that he was actually sleeping in a broom closet in a stairwell. So, Sakura came to the conclusion that she could _not_ trust _anything_ a person at an interview said. Ever.

"Does that mean we get to do whatever we want? It's not going to cost anything is it?!" A woman bellowed from far back in the legion of females, along with the occasional curious comment from the rest of the women as all heads turned to the announcer, as he stood on a pedestal that must have been put there earlier, before their arrival.

"Yes, everything is free of charge, thanks to Suigetsu. Might I suggest the tallest water slide in the park, the _Fuuten? _Now, go ahead and enjoy yourselves!" With that said, the women began to spread out in groups and tug their excess clothing off, stuffing it into their tote bags and leaving them by the man with the pedestal. Sakura did as she saw all the other girls do, continuing to go with her 'Follow the Crowd' plan, she stripped off her outer attire, opting to roll them into a neat, little spherical wad and placed them beside the other bags and clothing. Undressed down to nothing more than her swimsuit, Sakura stood at loss as to what action to follow next. She glanced around the vicinity, in search of a group to follow and pretend to be part of, but just when she found a suitable faction of women, she felt herself near choked from behind, as a pair of lithe arms wound their way about her shoulders.

"Sakura-imouto! It's great to see you again!" The effeminate voice was not what Sakura had expected to hear, although she was quite content with it, nonetheless, because she wasn't in the mood to deal with the overly touchy-feely Naruto, whom she had first thought it was, anyway. She quickly turned her head to catch a glimpse of the woman who had pounced on her, though she had a fairly good guess. Her eyes met with the dim green of Temari's and she attempted to force a smile, as the Sabaku woman pried her arms off of the pinkette.

"Er, you too Temari. Um, what are you doing here, though?" Sakura inquired, rubbing her assaulted neck and glancing up at the brazen woman, who, she noted, was also wearing a purple bikini. Temari put her hands on her voluptuous hips, with a feisty grin.

"I heard from Ino-bitch that you were being forced to take part in all the interviews from here on in, and I decided that someone should be here to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't get yourself into trouble! And I thought, I could be that someone, and just pretend to be in the interview like the rest of the women," She announced, seeming quite proud of herself. Sakura nodded, feeling somewhat elated by the fact that she now had a comrade in arms, who was willing to aid her in bombing the interview.

"Great, then you'll help me not get picked for this interview?" The smaller pinkette questioned hopefully, her vibrant green eyes glowing with anticipation. Temari smirked, the corner of her lips quirked up deviously.

"Hell yes! But for now, let's just enjoy the water park, shall we?"

Sakura and Temari spent the majority of the hour, riding the multitudinous amount of water slides and pools that Yomiuri Land Water Park, had to offer. With so many H2O related attractions, Sakura couldn't help but have a little fun, even with the dreaded interview looming ominously over her head the entire time. Her and Temari had journeyed throughout the bulk of the water park, having done every water slide and swam in every pool; all that remained was the _Fuuten_, the tallest slide in the park. It was the type of water slide that was also known as a plunge slide, it was a directly vertical drop from top to bottom, standing at one-hundred and ten feet high, it could bring you up to forty miles per hour, while falling. The _Fuuten_ was the most exhilarating water slide in the water park, and it was the only slide that Temari had yet to force Sakura on to.

Sakura gaped up at the attraction before her, and could already feel the butterflies in her stomach at the prospect of riding a slide of that height. She could hear the screams of unadulterated fear of the woman who had just pushed off from the top, as she plunged to the ground. "I-I don't even think she's even touching the slide anymore…" Sakura murmured, holding herself in apprehension, as she glanced at Temari in her peripherals for the verdict on if she were going to pressure her into riding the slide or not.

"I think it's perfect. C'mon, Sakura-imouto!" Temari gleamed, eyeing the slide, and practically oozing anticipation. She quickly grabbed Sakura's wrist and tugged her in the direction of the ever long staircase that lead straight up to the apex of the slide. "It'll be fun, I promise!" Sakura sighed, allowing the amount of dread building up in the pit of her stomach to overcome her, already beginning to feel the effects of the slide taking over her. Though she wasn't even on the slide yet.

As they tromped up the steps, the line being very short for this particular slide, Sakura couldn't help but wish that the stairs would never end. Unfortunately, and obviously, they did, Sakura taking deep breaths, reveling in the comforting feeling of oxygen filling her lungs, all the while. The landing had only a handful of daring young women standing atop it, a man with a dark red shirt, and a red baseball cap titled low over his face, was sitting complacently beside the entrance of the slide, his arms crossed, he looked almost asleep he was in a such a relaxed position. However, he did say a few words to each woman as they got ready to slide down.

Before long, Temari was already positioning herself at the mouth of the slide, and the man scoffed. She cast him a sidelong scowl, before grabbing the edges of the ride and rearing to push off and plummet down. "Have a nice ride, Sabaku-san." The man with the red cap said, just as Temari shoved off and cascaded down along with the water. Sakura gazed at him, momentarily caught off guard by his unconcerned words. He only barely glanced up at her from where he sat, a smirk set on his mouth, though Sakura couldn't see his whole face.

"Hey, pinky. Bet'cha you'll scream," He gleamed, seeming to take great satisfaction in this bet he was making. Sakura raised her slim eyebrow, and shot a covert look over her shoulder to see if there were any other women behind her. When she realized she was the only one left to ride the slide, she huffed, and decided that the man was just picking on her because they were alone, and he was out of earshot of anyone remotely important. How irritating.

Although, Sakura was never one to back down from a challenge, especially one as petty as the one placed in front of her. She could easily go on the slide without uttering a peep. Because Sakura had a very competitive nature, and she could tell this man was saying that to get her to quail like a frightened puppy. And besides, he called her _pinky_.

Sakura eyes glossed over with a luster of anticipation, and she pulled her lips up in a delightfully challenging grin. "You're on!" And with that, she plopped onto the slide and pushed off.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, she had just made a bet with a very important man. A very important man, who was currently in the process of standing at the steel railing of the landing and watching her small, pink-haired body avalanche to the ground at an inconceivable rate. A very important man, who was dumbstruck to realize she was winning the bet, and how adorable she looked when she had that glow of a dare gleaming in her eyes and shining through her grin. Of course, how was poor Sakura to know she had just been talking with a man who went by the name of Suigetsu Hozuki?

"Ugh, that was mind-numbing…" Sakura murmured, after having ridden the most dreadfully terrifying slide she had ever had the unpleasantry of riding. And during that ride, she had had to keep her mouth sealed shut, without even a squeak, forcing her to have to keep all her fear captive inside her aching lungs. Which reminded her. She had won the bet! Sakura beamed, her eyes wide, before dashing to the stairs to meet up with that man who had challenged her.

Being careful not to slip, she jumped two steps at a time, until she had finally reached the peak of the attraction, were the small landing was. She came face to face with the red-capped man, her triumphant smirk still shining across her positively, childishly delighted face, as she crossed her arms. "Hah! I didn't scream at all! I win!" The man's own teeth-showing grin was prominently showing across his face, two rows of sharp teeth gleaming from behind his lips.

"Yes you did," He said, his voice a mixture of satisfaction and pleasure. Sakura frowned in confusion, her brows knitting together. That wasn't quite the reaction she had been hoping for. With dramatized gradualness, the man lifted his cap from his head and allowed for his silver hair to fall to his shoulders, his blue-gray eyes glinting with a playful light. He took an abrupt step towards her, closing the distance between them, to nothing more than a hair's breath. "Hello, my name is Suigetsu Hozuki. What's yours?"

Sakura's leaf hued eyes grew vastly larger as the realization set in, and she gritted her teeth, and clenched her fists. "NO WAY! THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL YOU COULD POSSIBLY BE SUI-" Suddenly, a finger was to her lips and Suigetsu smirked, his eyes crinkling.

"See? What'd I tell ya? You just screamed."

Sakura gaped, a completely bewildered expression across her face, her left eye twitching. "What the-" She hesitated, her green eyes trained on the supposed-Suigetsu standing stationary before her, before narrowing accusingly. "_You-_"

"What'd ya say to a little swim?" Suigetsu suddenly spouted, his smirk still obviously shining, and his eyes glinting mischievously. Sakura growled, her eyes narrowed with evident suspicion, her crossed arms tensed and she clenched her teeth.

"What are you talking about?" She ground out, ire still very much apparent in her voice. Suigetsu, if that was who he really was, gripped her wrist tightly in his hand and dragged her over to the mouth of the slide.

"Well, you see, I just want you to look right there. You see, right there." And as he said this he pointed over the slide across the horizon, but as far as Sakura could tell there was nothing but a dim sky in the direction his finger indicated to, she tilted her head.

"I don't-" But she was abruptly cut off, when Suigetsu jerked her against him and pounced down the slide, head first. "AGH! YOU'RE FREAKING CRAZY!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, feeling the oxygen burning through her throat and releasing a high pitched staccato of an accusation, as she clung to Suigetsu's shirt for dear life. Suigetsu simply grinned at her, the way she normally saw Naruto grin, an impish grin, before putting one hand securely around her waist.

"You better hang on tight, you're actually not supposed to go down a slide like this, head first," He instructed, his other hand on her head, keeping her tucked close to his body, as they plummeted one-hundred and ten feet down, gravity pulling them furiously back towards ground.

Suigetsu could have laughed for all the fun he was having at that moment, despite the fact that he was plunging head first down over a hundred feet. The mere memory of the girl in his arms' face when he had challenged her, the anticipation and determination that glowed in her eyes when he did so, and her delectably adorable expression when she thought she had won the bet they had made. Or even the anger she had so violently thrown at him, only moments ago, how she had radiated a murderous aura, seeming hell bent on tossing him over the steel railing. Her moods were as unpredictable and amusingly enthralling as water itself, and Suigetsu couldn't help but find himself lost in her depth.

Oh yes, the perfect woman.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die…" Sakura murmured the mantra, as she felt the end of the slide drawing near. Earlier, when she had said that the woman going down the very slide she preoccupied, looked as if she wasn't even touching the slide anymore, was a very correct notion, for neither she nor Suigetsu were even so much as _grazing_ the slide. But as they neared the end, and the slide slowly eased from a vertical drop to a horizontal glide, they hit the hard plastic with enough force to leave a small bruise. The momentum from the drop, sent the two shooting through the water before gradually slowing to a stop. "Uhn, God I can't believe I'm alive," Sakura muttered, barely conscious from the heart-attack she almost had, she felt the water continue to flow past her body, before she was pulled up into a sitting position, by Suigetsu himself.

He grinned at her again, the same satisfied, pleased, playful grin and placed either of his hands on her shoulders. His blue-gray eyes bored into hers as he opened his mouth, attempting to ignore the way the cloth if his, now drenched, shirt stuck to his torso like a second skin. "You, what's your name?" Sakura blinked. Once. Twice. Still slightly disoriented from the rollercoaster of a slide she had just ridden on head first.

"Er… Sakura Haruno…"

"Well, then Sakura Haruno. I'm gonna make you mine. Oh, and I choose you for the Contest." The look of complete and total self-confidence that beamed from Suigetsu's face, was enough to send anyone into a momentary moment of stupor, and Sakura continued to blink furiously, praying to all Gods above that this was some sort of horrid nightmare. All the while, Suigetsu beaming at her curiously, the water dripping from his hair and onto her face.

Of course, they weren't alone in their little moment, because it was obvious that Sakura's screams would have attracted at least a few people, Temari among them. And they were all standing around the base of the slide, with worried expressions. But now that the bulk of the women had seen, or rather, heard Suigetsu's proclamation, their brows were no longer creased with worry, no, more like, crumpled with infuriation. Except Temari, who had realized her failure to accomplish the task she and Sakura had originally set out to do. It would seem that Sakura had managed to get _nine_ men to proclaim their want for her to be theirs (she had obtained the statistics from Ino). She scratched her head, accompanied by a dry chuckle.

"I believe you have a harem here, Sakura-imouto."

The quip comment was enough to break Sakura out of her short relapse in thought, and she carefully processed Suigetsu's previous words, slowly realizing the implications of such a statement. And so she simply said, "No, effing way."

"I know, I found it kind of hard to believe too," Suigetsu sympathized with her, a pout on his expressive face. As they sat there in the constantly flowing water, Suigetsu finally took notice of all the women surrounding them and sighed, before raising his arm to signal the announcer from earlier and a small group of black clothed men, and they hurried over to him. "I want you to rid the park of the women. I am finished." The men all nodded, with a quick bow, before the announcer pulled a megaphone out from nowhere and began hollering into it.

"Um… Can you let me go now? It's hard to wallow in self-pity when you're being squeezed by a wet man, in a water slide," Sakura muttered, casting a dejected look to the clear, chlorinated water that rushed by her. Suigetsu's smirk-ish face immediately melted to confusion, at Sakura's words and he frowned.

"You want me to let you go?" But before Sakura could repeat her words to reiterate her point, shouts of indigence were heard not far off. She glanced up, some of her drenched pink hair partially blocking her view of the scene before her. A couple of the men who were dressed in black, the ones who were clearly working for Suigetsu, were in the process of being fought to the ground by none other than Itachi Uchiha and Gaara Sabaku, not that Sakura was really all that shocked to see the two of them there. They must have seen the women being thrown out of the park, and decided to come and get her.

As she sat there, still held in Suigetsu's arms, said man also curious as to what the spectacle was all about, Itachi's eyes suddenly met hers and she felt a slight bit of guilt well up in the bottom of her stomach, just quell there suddenly and she frowned. Why was she feeling _guilty_ of all things?! What did _she_ do to deserve any of this?! Sakura inwardly cursed, and avoided Itachi's stare. Of course, in doing so, she was completely oblivious to the lethal scowl that instantly covered Itachi's face once his crimson eyes rested on the man beside her. Beside his Sakura.

And it seemed that was enough to push him, and Gaara over the edge, and the both of them immediately jerked through the barrier, that was Suigetsu's men, to stampede over to the two, both of their faces considerably darkened.

"What the hell're you two doing at my interviews and beating my men to pulps for, exactly?" Suigetsu inquired, standing to his feet, pulling Sakura with him, before glowering at the squish his shoes made, being filled with water as they were.

"Why are you holding _my_ Sakura so close to you?" Itachi hissed, his tone laced with undisguised malice as his grimace increased twenty fold and he fisted his hands at his side, Gaara looking none the kinder. Suigetsu raised a silver eyebrow, before allowing a smirk to spread across his face. Somehow registering the animosity that was radiating off the two in front of him, and realizing they both had a thing for the woman he had just chosen to make his. Inwardly, he felt his insides twist and inwardly he growled. But outwardly, he kept his smirk carefully in place.

"Your Sakura?" He questioned, leaning down to Sakura's level, his hand on top of her damp locks, casting the two other millionaires one last triumphant look, as he allowed his tongue to slip past his slightly parted smirk to drag up Sakura's cheek. "I don't think so." Sakura's face exploded into a firework of red, and she immediately slapped her hand to her violated cheek, her green eyes wide. Before she could shout indignantly at the silver haired man beside her, both Itachi and Gaara went in for the kill, eyes blazing with unconcealed hatred. They pounced Suigetsu to the slide, punching and thrashing and brawling it out in the rolling water of the slide. Sakura quickly jumped out and onto solid ground, turning to watch the three flail about in their all out melee.

Sakura rolled her eyes, finding herself unconcerned for their safety, and glanced around the near empty water park, when she suddenly caught sight of Temari, standing not ten feet away from her, and the pinkette realized she had never left. "Hey, Temari?"

"Yeah, Sakura-imouto?" The Sabaku woman muttered; her blank, uncaring gaze fixed on the three men kicking around in the water.

"Since my two only rides are … _busy_. You mind giving me a lift home?"

"No problem. Let's go."

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Yeah, I couldn't believe Suigetsu won the poll either. It was very uncalled for.

Anyway, I would enjoy if you would please review. And by the way, tell me, when did you guys get out of school? I got out June Fourth. Which I thought was sick and wrong! School should never leak into June. It's simply blasphemous.

And don't forget to vote on the new poll!

Review!,

red


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